An open letter to redfoo from thefix literally we cantwrite about you again 20141111 p5otsm.html – Breaking News & Latest Updates 2026
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This was published 11 years ago

An open letter to Redfoo from TheFIX: 'Literally we can't…write about you again.'

Amy Nelmes Bissett

Redfoo

Dear Redfoo,

You've caught our attention. That's what you wanted, right? And the result? Well, this will be the last article TheFIX will ever write about you. Congratulations, you're the first celebrity we've handed a blanket ban in the whole of our seven-year tenure.

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And what has triggered this feat, you ask? Well, no, not your constant need to give whacky hand gestures on every red carpet, like some jacked-up Austin Powers, or your shocking dress sense. But because you are a misogynist.

It was with horror we witnessed your latest offering to the music world, an anti-female anthem called 'Literally I can't', with the equally offensive duo Play-N-Skillz and rapper Lil’ Jon. The song's premise is simple…telling women to "shut the **** up".

You hit a trifecta of sexism which would make Robin Thicke shake in his 'Blurred Lines' boots by objectifying, threatening and hating women, all at once. A proud moment in your career?

Just in case you've forgotten the lyrics, here's a reminder: "You got a big ol’ butt, I can tell by the way you walkin’. But you an annoying slut, because you’re talking."

And this: "Shhh...I said jump on the pole; I didn’t need your opinion...I’m trying to see what you got, not trying to hear what you think."

We have a couple of questions for you, which, just so you know are rhetorical as TheFIX have no interest in actually conversing with you.

What does your mum Nancy Leiviska, a music writer since the 70s who has worked with Marvin Gaye and The Commodores, think about her grown-up son calling women "sluts"?

Or the other females in your life; your fellow X Factor judges, Natalie Bassingthwaighte and Danni Minogue? Or the winner of this year's X Factor, the 15-year-old Marlisa Punzalan? Or even your female agent, Karen Griffin? Or will you just tell them to "shut the **** up"?

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And we're interested in how you'll return to X Factor Aus, as a judge and mentor to up-and-coming acts - some as young as 14-years-old - when your lyrics blur the lines of sexual consent? And how will you go from working on a family show, with a young audience watching at home, to gigs with an audience of impressionable teenage boys, all singing along to your hateful lyrics?

And we just wonder if you know it's 2014? Actually, nearly 2015, where cheap tactics to rinse some easy cash by generating headlines with misogynistic lyrics will give you the last whisperings of fame before you slowly fizzle out. Just ask the newly divorced Mr Thicke, if you can get him out of the shadows.

Ultimately, the message is clear: we've pulled the plug on you. From now on, TheFIX will merely say "Red who?" when we hear your name.

Amy Nelmes, Editor of TheFIX.

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Ooopsy. TheFIX has been informed by Redfoo's US legal representation that we have "misrepresented and misquoted" the lyrics to 'Literally I Can't'.

Embarrassingly, we're informed that when Redfoo raps "Shhh…I said jump on the pole; I didn't need your opinion", he is in fact singing, "Shhh…I said jump on the poll; I didn’t mean your opinion". We're assuming that despite the music video being set at a frat party, Redfoo is referring to a voting poll.

Lastly, his representation has made it clear the dubbed out word in the music video – the one which rhymes with "butt" - is categorically not "slut". And is simply, "You got a big ol’ butt, I can tell by the way you walkin’. But you annoying me, because you’re talking."

However, the lyric telling women to "shut the **** up" is correct.

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