Watch John Mayer Dance Through Colorful ‘Still Feel Like Your Man’ Video
Singer recently said he anticipated “cultural appropriation” backlash for clip, which he described as being set in “disco dojo”
John Mayer grooves his way though a vividly colored scene he previously described as a “disco dojo” in his bold video for “Still Feel Like Your Man.” Director Mister Whitmore fills the eye-popping clip with butterflies, kimonos, giant panda bear costumes and group choreography from Lisa Eaton.
The singer, who recently told The New York Times that his sleek soul-pop single reminded him of the non-existent musical style “ancient Japanese R&B,” anticipated a backlash for the video. “Do I think that someone is going to tweet that this is cultural appropriation? Yes,” he told the publication, while preemptively defending himself against the charge.
“Part of cultural appropriation is blindness,” he continued. “I’m on the right side of the line because it’s an idea for the video that has a very multiethnic casting, and nobody who is white or non-Asian is playing an Asian person ”¦ I think we were as sensitive as we could possibly be. We discussed it at every juncture.”
Mister Whitmore said he and Mayer “thought long and hard about how to approach” the clip’s “fantasy element” without offending anyone. “I hope there’s an understanding that we were sensitive to it,” he added.
In a playful tweet announcing the video release, Mayer focused not on potential criticism but on his long-suppressed dancing: “Fans have asked me for *years*, ‘John Mayer, when are you going to dance in a music video?’ I did this for them.”
“Still Feel Like Your Man” will be included on Mayer’s upcoming seventh LP, The Search for Everything, out April 14th.
