The music video director Diane Martel died on Thursday, September 18, in New York, her family told Rolling Stone. “Diane passed away peacefully at Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital—surrounded by friends and family—after a long battle with breast cancer,” the family said. “She is survived by her aunt, Gail Merrifield Papp (wife of Joseph Papp, founder of the Public Theatre), her three beloved, loyal cats (Poki, PopPop, PomPom), and many loving lifetime friends.” Martel was 63 years old.
Martel directed her first music video, for Onyx’s “Throw Ya Gunz,” in 1992. She continued to work primarily in the hip-hop world, filming Method Man’s “Bring the Pain,” Gang Starr’s “Mass Appeal,” and more. She also did a lot of videos for Mariah Carey, including “Dreamlover,” “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” and “Whenever You Call.” Martel continued to work steadily in the 2000s, collaborating with Clipse, Jennifer Lopez, the Killers, Britney Spears, Franz Ferdinand, Ne-Yo, and others.
Martel began the 2010s with videos for Beyoncé’s “Best Thing I Never Had,” Alicia Keys’ “Brand New Me,” and more. It was 2013, however, that turned her into a household name, thanks to her headline-grabbing music videos for Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” and Miley Cyrus’ “We Can’t Stop.”
The “Blurred Lines” video starred Thicke, Pharrell Williams, and T.I. with models Emily Ratajkowski, Elle Evans, and Jessi M’Bengue. The minimalist video featured the men and the models dancing in front of a white background, and Martel explained the general concept to Grantland in a 2013 interview: “Robin asked me to make a white cyc video. I heard the song and loved it. Here was an opportunity to try out some of my ideas about sales and craft working in unison.”
“I wanted to deal with the misogynist, funny lyrics in a way where the girls were going to overpower the men,” Martel continued. “Look at Emily Ratajkowski’s performance; it’s very, very funny and subtly ridiculing. That’s what is fresh to me. It also forces the men to feel playful and not at all like predators. I directed the girls to look into the camera, this is very intentional and they do it most of the time; they are in the power position.”
Despite Martel’s intentions, the video was widely viewed as sexist and misogynistic, with many seeing the women as being objectified by the three male artists. (The song’s lyrics were also viewed as “rapey,” as Williams said in reflection in 2019.) Not helping matters was a second, unrated version of the “Blurred Lines” video in which the women were mostly naked.
