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Singer-Songwriter Matthew West Deletes ‘Modest Is Hottest’ YouTube Video After Pushback

By Bob Smietana
West
Singer-songwriter Matthew West performs during a luncheon at the Southern Baptist Convention on June 14, 2021, in Nashville, Tenn. (Photo by Eric Brown/Baptist Press)

Christian musician Matthew West thought he was poking fun at overprotective dads with a new song “Modest Is Hottest.”

Instead, he stepped into a firestorm about evangelical purity culture.  

The song, which he posted on his YouTube channel, featured lyrics like “Modest is hottest, the latest fashion trend. It’s a little more Amish, a little less Kardashian,” and claims that boys really love “a turtleneck and a sensible pair of slacks.”

A video of the song showed West trying to cover up his teenage daughters, who greet his efforts with a series of eye rolls.

The lyrics also include a line about West grounding his daughters for wearing crop tops and a prayer asking God to make them “more like Jesus and less like Cardi B.”

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Critics say the song — which gained attention during the recent Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting — promotes evangelical purity culture that blames women for the inappropriate actions of men and has been used to blame abuse survivors for tempting their abusers.

Singer and songwriter Audrey Assad described the phrase “modest is hottest” as “demeaning to women AND men.” 

https://twitter.com/audreyassad/status/1406676694002458624

“‘Modest is hottest’ centers men and their preferences in how women should look—still sets being found hot by men as the ultimate goal for women—and positions all men as creeps who can’t handle seeing a woman’s bare skin without turning into out of control monsters,” she wrote.

The video for the song has been removed from West’s YouTube channel. The song itself can still be found on Spotify.

“I’m blessed to be the father of two amazing girls,” he wrote on Twitter after pulling the song. “I wrote a song poking fun at myself for being an over-protective dad and my family thought it was funny. The song was created as satire, and I realize that some people did not receive it as intended. I’ve taken the feedback to heart. The last thing I want is to distract from the real reason I make music-: to spread a message of hope and love to the world.”

A well-known Christian songwriter and artist, West has been nominated several times for Grammys and has been named Billboard’s Christian songwriter of the year. He played “Modest Is Hottest” at a lunch event during the SEND conference that preceded the SBC annual meeting. 

His 2020 satirical song “Quarantine Life” has been played more than 2 million times on YouTube, and he said that he was trying to make fun of himself in the song. 

Christian attempts at satire have backfired in the past, most notably in the case of the Babylon Bee, which started out as an Onion-like publication poking fun of evangelical church culture only to become part of the culture wars and fake news disputes of the Trump era. 

Evangelicals have long promoted what’s known as the “sexual prosperity gospel,” which promised that God would bless those who put off sex until marriage. That often involved young women attending “purity balls” and wearing rings to symbolize their promises to abstain from sex. 

In recent years, evangelical churches have dealt with a series of abuse scandals in which pastors and other leaders have been accused of sexual misconduct. In one case, a megachurch pastor received a standing ovation after he admitted to past “sins” after being accused of coercing a teenage girl into oral sex when he served as a youth pastor while a college student. 

Messengers at the Southern Baptist Convention’s recent annual meeting passed a resolution calling for anyone who commits sexual abuse to be permanently banned from ministry.

Bob SmietanaBob Smietana is a national reporter for Religion News Service.

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30 Responses

  1. Well, the roots go deeper. These Christian celebs are actually more interested in using Christ’s Name to promote their own fame and fortune !

    Proverbs says bind the truth about your neck abs don’t sell it!

    And boy are they selling it for the most they can get glorifying themselves with a phony pretense they are serving Christ !

    It’s the This new apostate new brand and breed of Christianity the Bible condemns.

    A replacement christianity that seeks to be hip and cool leading many to a false Christ a false message a false gospel , An Angel of light a false flight taking many to hell without notice ..

    1. I think this is overly harsh and an unfairly judgemental attitude towards a man you don’t know.

  2. That’s too bad. I would have left it up. I thought it was funny. And I’m glad to see an overprotective father. I know plenty of parents like him. Let’s face it…we had a Christian celebrity post a video of his new wife “twerking” on him. So these critics are obviously okay with that? Why is emulating Miley Cyrus something to celebrate? If women have problems with fathers wanting their daughters to dress modestly then we are really in trouble.

    1. I disagree. I think Matthew West’s use of his daughters for entertainment and clicks is “underprotecting” them, not “overprotecting” them. Plenty of secular entertainers are far more careful about keeping their children off of their own social media (i.e. business) accounts.

    1. Customer (in Christian book store): Where’s the humor section?
      Employee: This is a Christian book store. We have no humor section!

    2. Calling their success a backfire is consistent with the leftist trend of using a word to mean its exact opposite.

  3. I’m sorry, but those who are offended by this songwriter’s honest wrestling with his desire to protect his daughters during their coming-of-age from a wicked and debauched world are playing into the hands of a woke feminist culture.

    I never thought I would see the day when even professing Christians are mocking the evangelical purity culture. Even one of the most famous promoters of that movement, Josh Harris, has “gone over the rainbow” to reject his former teachings, renounce his faith in Christ, and recant his vows to his wife. Now, Harris is a poster child for the “exvangelical” pro LGBTQ+ movement. Tragically, those who are condemning Matthew West are among those who champion the “boldness” and “bravery” of Harris.

    Yes, men and boys need to take full responsibility for their lust. The Bible makes that clear. But there are also very clear biblical admonitions to women concerning modesty. Tragically, woke feminism has so impacted the church that a father can’t even jokingly encourage his daughters to be “a little less Kardashian” without getting spat upon. The hedonistic culture of licentiousness is being extolled, while purity is being expunged—this is an inversion of God-honoring values.

    If anything, Matthew West was way too kind when he sings, “No offense to Cardi B / I’m sure she’s a really nice girl.” (She’s not. Her acts reveal a pride in being the baddest of the bad—the ultimate Jezebel.) It’s true that Jesus loves her in the same way He loves all sinners and desires them all to come to repentance. But any objective examination of the lyrics and raunchy acts of Cardi B. reveal her to be the foulest of foul when it comes to corrupting youth culture and objectifying women.

    Therefore, anyone offended by West is also offended by the truth of Scripture, which points out, “Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion” (Prov. 11:22). Those hating on West are really hating on God and His Word.

    West should have stood his ground. “Wokeism” is an affront to God—but purity is obedience:

    “Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.” —1 Peter 1:13-16

    1. @Mark – as a Dad who sought to raise two daughters (my wife included) I get the humor of this song, yet seeking to send a message which needs to be heard. I remember years ago when I went shopping with our daughters for some clothing and saw a small denim item hanging up. I thought it was a purse and was trying to figure out how it worked. One of my daughters stopped and saw the questioning look on my face and I told her of my dilemma. She laughed and said, “Dad, that’s not a purse, that’s a skirt.” Well, no girl was going to hide much in that!

      We can declare that a woman shouldn’t be responsible for lustful thoughts on the part of males, and I agree. However, we do need to understand reality. As I mentioned in another post, “why do prostitutes dress the way they do?” It certainly isn’t so that the men would get to know the “beauty of their inner souls.”

      Walk in to a public school boys’ locker room and listen to their discussion about girls who “have it and flaunt it.” They have very uncomplimentary names for these girls and they are considered to be an “easy” target. We can argue that it shouldn’t be — but the reality is that we living in a broken, sinful, world and we need to live in reality.

      Most importantly as followers of Jesus we are called to live differently. And the passages which you list are worthy of consideration for both men and women on this topic. In fact, that is the place to start.

      My daughter was the one who pointed this song out to me, and laughed about it a she could identify and yet appreciated that I tried to protect as she navigated those years. I’ve had quite a few conversations with Dad’s who have daughters whom they want to protect, and they get this song … even from Dad’s who as young men wouldn’t have appreciated the message when they were younger!

      Truly sad that this has been picked apart and so removed. We will lose the benefit of additional types of teaching satire in the future because who wants to go through this?

      1. “Most importantly as followers of Jesus we are called to live differently. ”

        Yes. That’s why being “hottest” isn’t a goal for Christian women, and having such a goal is actually immodest, regardless of how one is dressed.

        Michael West’s entire framework for this satire was worldly, not spiritual.
        I suppose he was more focused on whether it rhymed.

        1. @Lea – Matthew West is saying through satire that “modest is best.” He used a catchy phrase to attempt to drive home that point. He is not saying “try to be hot” or popular. Something being “hot” is a popular phrase among young people applied to many things besides people (ie., a hot car). I’m sorry if you have missed that. No, I don’t find Matthew West’s entire framework worldly. I find him to be a guy who loves Jesus.

          1. “Hot” is a euphemism for “sexy”, when applied to people, as it was in this case. If you missed that, it might be a generation gap.

            The current trend for men in ministry to refer to the “hotness” of their wives or daughters is worldly and immodest.

          2. His lingo is self-deprecating. He’s playing the dorky dad trying to sound hip, while trying to convince his kids that “you don’t want that yucky cake, you want yummy vegetables.” It has nothing to do with what’s hot and what’s not.

      2. “Living in reality” should not excuse derogatory comments made about women, whether they are dressed like nuns or street walkers. I do hope that if any Godly man were to overhear derogatory banter, they would intervene and not dismiss it as part of “living in reality.”

    2. Hi Mark – can you please define “woke”? I don’t think you are using that term as initially defined or intended. (I’m not attacking, I am clarifying. I agreed with much of what you wrote but your use of the term “woke” confused me).

    3. “there are also very clear biblical admonitions to women concerning modesty”
      Where, exactly?

  4. One of the attributes of love in the famous 1 Corinthians 13:5 is that it is not easily provoked (or offended). I can see that many have missed the nature of what West is intending to poke fun of. Probably a good idea to make sure we clearly understand before being offended.

  5. “The aged women likewise, that they be in behavior as becoming holiness, not false accuser, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; That they teach young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of god be not blasphemed. (Titus 2 – 3 -5 KJV). This is what God desires, what God hating feminists such as Audrey Assad hate. The sexual revolution rages on and we must fight the good fight. It’s a spiritual battle.

    1. Yes. I truly don’t understand why anyone cares what Audrey Assad thinks about the song given that she has completely renounced the Christian faith. She comes off to me as just another self-important ex-Christian celebrity.

      1. Seems like an over reaction to the song. While people want to blame everything on “purity culture” at the end of the day God does call us women to be modest. I applaud his attempt at encouraging modesty. His heart may have been in the right place. I don’t agree with Audry Assad that he intended to attribute a woman’s worth to her appearance. It seems he may have been trying to do the opposite.

    2. @Howie –

      I really agree and appreciate your introducing this scripture. I am a believer that we need to get back to Biblical feminism, and that includes expanding the knowledge and application of verses like this AND deepening understanding of our value in God. While men and women have uniquely separate roles, we are equal in value to Him. When we come together, our roles actually complement each other AND give glory to God.

      I will also say using strong, accusatory language like “God hating feminist” undermines the validity of your point and “speaking the truth in love” element of the scripture, adding unnecessary condescension and hatred towards those who simply need to be transformed by the love of Christ, our love for one another, and our love for them.

  6. The Babylon Bee did not and does not take part in fake news disputes… their satire has edged more political than Christian, but it is SATIRE that plays off of conspiracy theory and speculation for humor. And it succeeds in doing so. They are targeted by the likes of Snopes and mainstream media because they’re labeled as both Christian and Republican.

  7. You can say lots of things about this song. You can say it’s not very funny. You can say it’s not very original, or catchy, or clever. You can cringe, if you like, at the purity culture it plays on (but hopefully not at purity itself). You can question the wisdom of parading your kids on social media (a topic unto itself). But the one thing you can’t say, without mangling the song’s meaning, is that Mr. West perpetuates a framework that encourages “hotness” as a goal for young women. To do that is to miss the entire point.

    Mr. West doesn’t want his daughters to be “hot.” That’s the whole point – especially as he contemplates the future hoards of hormone-frenzied boys angling for their affections, or angling for something. But how to convince his teenage girls? Fathers (and I assume mothers) can relate; it’s a tough sell. So many voices are sending a different message. And that’s where the song begins – with a dad’s well-meaning, but comically miscarried attempt to convince his daughters that being “not hot” is really the new hot.

    I suppose he could have used the direct approach and told his girls they ought not to center their self-worth on any human scale of attractiveness. But then we would have a sermon and not a song, and definitely not this kind of song – lighthearted, poking fun at the age-old challenge of fathers relating to their teenage daughters.

  8. Excellent discussion and points noted. Now I will sharpen up my scissors to remove all the passages from the Holy Scriptures wherein mockery, hyperbole and satire are used. Who could imagine such hurtful language coming from the lips of the Master or his prophets and apostles.

    LOL, my peeps, That was satire!

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