Madonna's video for 'American Life' was intended to be a commentary on the US invasion of Iraq
Madonna released a big surprise for her fans.
The queen of pop on Friday released the director's cut of the music video for her 2003 song "American Life," which was originally released in censored form 20 years ago.
In the video, Madonna leads a fashion show where models walk the catwalk alongside war victims.
The video takes a dramatic turn when the models begin beating the victims of war until they bleed, to the laughter of the fashion show audience.
The violence intensifies as bodies are dragged down the catwalk, many of them missing limbs, alongside photos of actual war victims projected on the screen behind the singer.
"American Life" is featured on Madonna's self-titled album released in 2003. The album cover was inspired by "Guerrillero Heroico", a famous photo of Argentine guerrilla leader Che Guevara.
When Madonna began preparing her ninth album, "American Life," she wanted to find answers to her questions and give a proper response to the tragedy of 9/11 and the Iraq war that followed in 2003.
Madonna had originally released the music video for "American Life", directed by Jonas Åkerlund and intended to be a commentary on the US invasion of Iraq, in a heavily censored version, as it received backlash for its violent content.
"Because of the volatile state of the world and out of sensitivity and respect for the armed forces, which I support and pray for, I don't want to risk offending anyone who might misinterpret the meaning of this video," he said at the time.
But after two decades, it seems Madonna decided it was finally time for the world to see the video for "American Life" as originally intended, including its controversial ending, in which a George W. Bush bodyguard grabs a grenade and he lights a cigarette with her.
