Duran Duran have just released their new album, Red Carpet Massacre – and the video for their first single is already causing quite a stir.
The song, "Falling Down" was produced and co-written by Justin Timberlake, and features a girl checking into rehab who looks remarkably like Britney Spears. (In this case, the rehab is populated by scantily clad models. Hey, it is a rock video.)
So, is that character meant to be Britney?
"I suppose it's loosely based on her, but not [only] on one celebrity – just celebrity culture in general," drummer Roger Taylor told PEOPLE Wednesday before hitting the stage at a Manhattan gala benefiting the National Down Syndrome Society. "A lot of [young celebrities] seem to disappear into rehab. ... So it's kind of like, what could be happening in your wildest dream in that rehab center?"
As for what Timberlake – who eons ago was Britney's boyfriend – thinks of the video, lead singer Simon Le Bon says, "I haven't spoken to him since the video has been made public. But he likes his pretty girls, so he probably would like it."
Controversial Finish
The ending of the video – showing the girl leaving rehab and immediately grabbing a glass of champagne – is controversial, even within the band.
"I didn't like that at all," admitted bassist John Taylor. "I wanted it to be a little more ambiguous at the end, because I'm a believer in recovery."
Still, the band members – who have experienced both the highs and lows of fame in their 30 years together – wish nothing but the best for the troubled Spears.
"I just wish she could accept help," said Le Bon. "It seems that all the people who care about her, she’s pushing away."
