Music

The Beastie Boys release statement over the viral, feminist rendition of "Girls"

by Mark Teo

November 25, 2013

Last week, a Rube Goldberg toy commercial went viral after they turned the Beastie Boys’ lobotomized anthem “Girls” into an all-out feminist anthem. At the time, the commercial felt easy to support: It opposed princess stereotypes amongst girls. It criticized how toys were marketed to girls. And it advocated for more women in fields typically dominated by men—namely, engineering and the sciences.

Seems brilliant, no? It’s something the Beastie Boys would surely approve of, considering that—since the release of “Girls”—they’ve denounced their homophobic, misogynistic past, saying that “time has healed our stupidity.” Right?

Well, not quite. The band has released a statement, saying that GoldieBlox’s song was used without their permission.

“Like many of the millions of people who have seen your toy commercial ‘GoldieBlox, Rube Goldberg & the Beastie Boys,’ we were very impressed by the creativity and the message behind your ad,” the band wrote in an open letter. “We strongly support empowering young girls, breaking down gender stereotypes and igniting a passion for technology and engineering. As creative as it is, make no mistake, your video is an advertisement that is designed to sell a product, and long ago, we made a conscious decision not to permit our music and/or name to be used in product ads.”

As Consequence of Sound correctly notes, Adam Yauch’s even specifically forbids the band’s music from being used in advertisement.

However, many media sources have erroneously stated that the Beastie Boys are suing GoldieBlox. They are not. In fact, the Beastie Boys were pre-emptively sued last Thursday. Here’s a statement from the company, issued with their lawsuit.

“In the lyrics of the Beastie Boys’ song entitled ‘Girls,’ girls are limited (at best) to household chores, and are presented as useful only to the extent they fulfill the wishes of the male subjects,” the company wrote in their legal complaint. “The GoldieBlox ‘Girls’ Parody Video takes direct aim at the song both visually and with a revised set of lyrics celebrating the many capabilities of girls.”

There’s been much confusion about who’s suing who. Adrock took to Twitter today to confirm it: the Beastie Boys haven’t threatened legal action GoldieBlox has.