Is Jessie Murph’s ‘1965’ Video Art, or Smut?

Jessie Murph‘s “1965” music video is pornographic, and that’s not judgement or hyperbole.

Midway through the tongue-in-cheek retrospective, one finds a man and woman having sex on the edge of a bed.

It lasts just long enough for you to think, “Oh my gosh, how has this passed YouTube’s censors?”

But aside from that … actually, there is one other shocking scene, and 11 F-bombs across the three-and-a-half-minute song.

But aside from that …

• Jessie Murph’s “1965” music video is age-restricted and cannot be embedded on external websites.
• Find the song on her newest album, Sex Hysteria.
• “Blue Strips” is the most streamed song (106M) from that album on Spotify.

Related: 10 Jessie Murph Songs to Start With If You’re a New Fan

Jessie Murph, “1965” Video Controversy:

The lyrics to Murph’s “1965” compare life as a married woman 60 years ago to the highs and lows of being in love today. It’s dramatic and bold and ultimately concludes that things have changed, but have not necessarily gotten better.

Society has simply traded one form of oppressing women for another.

“I might get a little slap-slap, but you wouldn’t hit me on Snapchat,” Murph sings during a particularly representative lyric from the first verse.

Many viewers are upset by the sex scene, with some taking particular offense to a little girl appearing in a scene just before.

Here is a sample of what people are saying on YouTube:

Other shocking scenes include a woman hiding between the legs of a man under the dinner table and Murph putting a gun in the mouth of her 1960s male antagonist.

She appears in lingerie throughout and people are smoking a ton of cigarettes, but nobody’s complaining about that.

We’re here because of two to three seconds of X-rated cinema.

A critical take on this video is coming, but first, there are some things you should know about Jessie Murph.

Who Is Jessie Murph?

Jessie Murph is a 20-year-old Alabama native who first became popular in 2021 when a song called “Always Been You” drew fan attention.

She’s enjoyed considerable social media success, and in recent years she’s teamed with artists like Koe Wetzel (“High Road” hit No. 1 at country radio) and Jelly Roll (“Wild Ones”).

She is an unapologetically provocative singer and songwriter whose success in any single genre seems more a coincidence than marketing plan.

That’s not to say her success is undeserved — she just crosses genres with the ease of someone who doesn’t really believe in genres.

Sometimes she’s pretty country. Sometimes, she’s not.

“Yeah, you got me throwing blue strips / Bare t–s in the strip club / Throwing ones at your bi–h / And I know you know what’s going on / I’m going home, l’ma take it off for him / I’ma strip down all your wrongs, yeah,” she sings during the pre-chorus of “Blue Strips.”

Is Jessie Murph’s “1965” Video Art or Smut?

If you think Murph’s video is pornography, ask yourself this question: How would you feel had you seen this piece of content on Netflix?

What if this was a three-and-a-half-minute scene from an art house film?

That kind of context normalizes the more provocative scenes to the point that you have to ask if the issue is the music video, or the channel.

The art, wardrobe, message and direction of “1965” is actually quite stunning, and it all works together to make Murph’s point about misogyny in 2025 clear.

The extent to which Murph is seeking attention by creating and releasing this video will forever be argued, but she deserves recognition for challenging convention. The video for “1965” is a creative risk unlike any in recent country music history. It will change the course of her career for the better if people “get” it.

Or for worse if broader audiences decide it’s just filth.