Madonna - Justify My Love

The video became one of the first-ever music videos to be banned on MTV. MTV's pass on the video created a furor that made headlines. The video itself became a bestselling "video single" when it was released on the VHS-format that year.

On December 3, 1990, ABC's Nightline played the video in its entirety, then interviewed Madonna live about the video's sexual content and censorship. When asked whether she stood to make more money selling the video than airing it on MTV, she smiled and answered, "Yeah, so lucky me."

The video for "Justify My Love" was banned also from regular rotation on MuchMusic in Canada, although the controversy (as well as the subsequent banning of a video by Mitsou) led MuchMusic to launch a new series, Too Much 4 Much, which played controversial music videos accompanied by panel discussions on their artistic and cultural context.

In mid-2002, this video was aired in its entirety on MTV2 as part of a special countdown showing the most controversial videos ever to air on MTV. This countdown was shown only late at night because of the graphic imagery of "Justify My Love" and several other videos on the countdown.

As of early May 2007, the video has been receiving strong airplay on the late night edition of MuchMusic's request show "Punch Much"; however, the video is still banned in many areas of Canada, where the show is broadcast from. The video has had light to moderate airplay on MuchMoreMusic during its late night music video block.