It was either the French, the Afghans, Mario Puzo, or the Quentin Tarantino who said "Revenge is a dish best served cold." Were they right? Who knows? Everything I needed to know I learned from pop culture and music videos, which have taught me that when it comes to getting even, nothing beats the ass-kicking, window-smashing, good old-fashioned REVENGE video. (And leaving a horse head in someone's bed.)
Check out 10 classic videos where artists get mad, get even and get revenge by trashing their ex's place, taping themselves in naughty situations (right, Justin Timberlake?), putting the hurt on someone else's credit cards, or howling like a she-wolf in the middle of the desert like your name was Alanis Morissette. (Exactly like that, actually.)
PUBLIC DISPLAY OF REJECTION

Alanis Morissette -- "You Oughta Know"
Nothing says "woman scorned" like the wrath of Alanis Morissette and all. that. hair. Her 1995 video, "You Oughta Know," quickly became a b+tchfest manifesto for the maligned and scorned the world over. Thinking of getting "exploratory" in a movie theater? Um, yeah. Don't. Also, learning corner: Flea and Dave Navarro played on the original recording!
+ Watch "You Oughta Know"
BREAK STUFF!

Carrie Underwood -- "Before He Cheats"
If you cheat on Carrie Underwood, you've got an even bigger problem than the major hike in car insurance you're about to experience once you discover she's beat the LIVING S+++ out of your truck. In her 2006 "Before He Cheats" video, Carrie Underwood not only takes aim with a baseball bat, but she also BLOWS THINGS UP WITH HER MIND, bringing new meaning to "smash hit." Ever see Carrie the movie? Coincidence? I think not.
+ Watch "Before He Cheats"

Lily Allen -- "Smile"
Crafty Lily Allen recruits a band of local thugs and no-goodniks to mug her ex -- played by EastEnders' Elliott Jordan -- wreck his place, smash his records, and stuff his shirts in the toilet in her 2006 video, "Smile." Also he gets mugged and a horbs case of the Hershey squirts after Lily spikes his coffee with Ex-Lax. Smooth moves all around!
+ Watch "Smile"
AYO TECHNOLOGY

Justin Timberlake -- "Cry Me A River"
What happens when you cheat on Justin Timberlake? Nothing creepy or anything. Duder just pulls up to your driveway with Timbaland in the car, sneaks into your house when you leave, films himself banging an INCREDIBLY HOT CHICK, and leaves the evidence rolling and ready for you to watch when you step out of the shower. No big deal. (It's extra creepy if you happen to look like Britney Spears. ALSO: Fun fact -- the girl who plays Britney in the video is Lauren Hastings, who dated Shia LaBeouf. She also claimed that Lindsay Lohan stole an $11,000 coat from her.)
+ Watch "Cry Me A River"

Backstreet Boys -- "The Call"
Now pay attention because the Backstreet Boys' 2002 video for "The Call" may confuse people less intelligent than me. In the "The Call" video, one if not ALL of the BSBs are progressively cheating on their girlfriend/s, who MAY or may not have SET UP the guy/s to cheat on them in the first place. Total BSB sting operation! With a girl who may or may not be a transvestite. (Note: that's speculation on my part, but she kinda does look like a drag queen. Which is FINE if she were a tranners, but it'd take the video in a totally different direction.) Anyway, they're all cheating, or it's symbolic cheating or whatever, and the old-school 2002 cell phone (hence the phone sound effects!) becomes THE VESSEL through which the cheating travels. Symbolic BSB girlfriend however PWONES and sets up the whole operation to completely fail, thus flipping the script and using the cell phone and "the call that changed my destiny" as the vehicles that drive the whole sordid affair into the ground. Technology wins, cheaters lose! (Not-so-fun-fact: In 2003, AJ McLean revealed to Oprah that he first tried cocaine the night the "The Call" video was shot.)
+ Watch "The Call"
MURDER WAS THE CASE

Kanye West -- "Flashing Lights"
Spike Jonze directed Kanye West's 2008 "Flashing Lights" video, which is his most dramatic and definitely his most gruesome to date. While the song and lyrics are haunting, they completely belie the video's drastic measures: Playboy model Rita G shoves Kanye in a car, duct tapes his mouth shut (ahem!), and beats the life out of him with a shovel. All for the leaving the toilet seat up!
+ Watch "Flashing Lights"
+ Ashley Tisdale, Aerosmith, and credit card revenge after the jump!
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