Rihanna's "S&M" Director Talks Video Controversy + Sources Claim Gabriel Aubry Said "Don't Call Nahla BLACK!"

 

Melina Matsoukas, the director of Rihanna's "S&M" video, is responding to all the controversy surrounding their latest work.  Find out what she had to say inside plus get the scoop on the latest accusation in the Halle Berry vs. Gabriel Aubry battle...

 

We told you earlier that Rihanna's latest video "S&M" has been banned in 11 countries and the director has been accused of ripping off David LaChapelle's previous VOGUE work, now Melina Matsoukas is speaking out about her work.  In a recent interview with MTV News, she said,

"When I go out to make something, I kind of go out with the intention to get it banned — [well] not to get it banned, I always want my stuff played — but to make something provocative.  "So when you do something that's provocative, that's usually a repercussion. It's gonna be talked about or banned or slandered in some way. But it's making an effect and people are having a dialogue about it, so, to me, that's successful."

Melina, who also directed the Rihanna vid for "Rude Boy" and "Rockstar 101," finds the criticisms amusing.

"I mean, the song is called 'S&M'!" she laughed. "So I think that the imagery follows suit with what the song is. I wouldn't play down the imagery for a song that's so strong. It makes sense to develop it further and really take it there. So if they don't want to play it, [fans] can watch it somewhere else."

So what does Rihanna have to say about the headlines the video is making around the world?

"I haven't talked to Rihanna about the controversy," Matsoukas said. "But she was happy that MTV had no changes, and she was definitely like, 'See? We made it through!' Because the whole time we were like, 'If we use ball gags and we show this, are they gonna play it?'And we just went for it and didn't care, and people seem to be embracing that."

 

In today's installment of the Halle vs. Gabriel custody wars....

"Sources close to the former couple" (insert side-eye) are now telling TMZ that when Gabriel Aubry read newspaper articles that referred to his daughter Nahla as "Black," he would go postal and insist that his baby was "White." The sources said Gabe would even insist that Halle demand a retraction.

At this point...the stories coming from the "sources" seem like rejected tabloid fodder.  I don't buy this one...well, not completely.   I wish for the sake of Nahla, the sources would fall back and let Halle and Gabriel deal with this in court.  BUT...If this is true, I'm not sure I ever wanted to know THIS much about the ex-couple.