Having created and earned herself considerable buzz – both from critics and music fans – with her 2020 track “Drunk On You”, Betty Reed is now gearing up for the release of her new EP, ‘Mistakes Made, Lessons Learned’, which drops on September 3rd. Prior to that however, having released its first single “Karma” earlier this year, she’s now further teasing the collection with new single “Misunderstood”, the video for which PopWrapped are delighted to premiere.
As an artist who writes songs inspired by not only her own life experiences but also moments and events she’s been witness to around the world, “Misunderstood”, about the #MeToo movement and standing up for victims of harassment or assault, is already, unsurprisingly, resonating strongly with and deeply touching those who have heard it.
Betty says of the track: “The idea for this song came to me after listening to one of my favorite podcasts ‘My Favorite Murder.’ There are so many cases of how victims of assault are often doubted or in some cases blamed for what happened to them. We live in a culture of victim shaming and blaming, especially in cases involving female victims of assault. But, I made a conscious decision to not use any gender pronouns when writing this song because harassment is universal and happens to everyone – he, she, they.”
She goes on to add: “What I learned though listening to these stories is that in many cases, the aggressor would say they simply misunderstood or misread the situation, blaming the victim for leading them on, being drunk, or wishy-washy. And to make matters worse, people in law enforcement and people who hear the story sometimes question the victim’s motives. But the message should be loud and clear: stop the aggressor and stop blaming the victim.
The director (Jeremy Burchard) and I wanted to use a situation that is fairly universal — getting harassed at a bar. I have no issues with anyone coming up to me at a bar and chatting, but there are times when I am with friends or just turned off by an aggressive person. So, my first response is to politely tell them I’m not interested. But, sometimes it does not deter and they continue to push boundaries. That’s when politeness goes out the door.”
Check out the video for “Misunderstood” below and for more information on Betty Reed, visit her website, give her page a like on Facebook or follow her on Twitter and Instagram. Header photo credit: Taylor Napier.
