TORONTO – The latest celebrity “sex tape” to hit the Internet has gone viral—but not for the obvious reasons.
Actress Alyssa Milano, best known for her roles on Who’s the Boss and Charmed, is causing a mixed reaction from critics for her staged video that takes a satirical look at the bloodshed in Syria.
Filmed for the comedy show Funny or Die, the 40-year-old actress is seen in her undergarments with a man. A video camera set up to face the bed then “accidentally” gets turned to face a TV on a news report on the crisis on Syria.
VIDEO: Alyssa Milano “sex tape” on conflict in Syria
The Syria crisis has garnered much worldwide attention, specifically from Western countries, in recent weeks.
In the United States, the Obama administration blamed a chemical weapons attack that took place on Aug. 21 on Assad’s government and said more than 1,400 civilians died, including at least 400 children.
Other casualty estimates are lower, and the Syrian government has denied responsibility, contending rebels fighting to topple Assad were to blame.
In an interview with Mother Jones, Milano said she thinks the tape “was a really fun way to get people to realize that there are important issues our country is dealing with right now.”
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“If people end up learning something about the crisis in Syria that’s a good thing—even if I had to do a sex tape to lure them in,” she said.
But is Milano’s “sex tape” on Syria educational or ineffective?
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Kurt Schlosser said the video will “leave you smarter about conflict in Syria.”
“What you get on closer viewing is a better understanding of the ‘roots of the current upheaval in Syria,’ which lie in “sectarian divisions,”’ he wrote for today.com
Jay Hathaway at dailydot.com wrote the following:
“You see, right as things start to heat up, the camera falls to face the TV where a special news report on the crisis in Syria is playing,” he wrote. “And although some of the exaggerated moans Alyssa makes in the background can be a little distracting whilst focusing on the screen, it’s all part of the educational experience right?”
“Well played Miss Milano, well played indeed.”
Blogger Terri Schwartz said the skit is the “perfect way to get more people up-to-date on the crisis in Syria.”
“Sure, some of the noises Milano is making from the bed while the camera focuses on the television set are pretty hilarious, but this is one of the best nontraditional ways to raise awareness on the Syria situation that has been released yet.”
“I’m not sure it’s a great piece for Funny or Die, though,” wrote James Sheldon for monolith.com. “I’d argue it could be a lot more effective as a statement with a little better execution, and a grittier, not-as-well-lit, sex-tape-looking video. As it stands, it’s more ironic than it is funny, but then, that’s kind of the point, isn’t it?”
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Paul Joseph Watson from inforwars.com said Milano’s tape, however, “serves to propagandize for an attack on Syria.”
“The PR stunt, designed to “inform” people about the situation in Syria, merely regurgitates the official narrative about Assad being behind last month’s chemical weapons attack which violated Barack Obama’s ‘red line’,” he wrote.
On Twitter, social media also had mixed reactions:
And on Gawker.com, Neetzan Zimmerman called Milano’s video “the most-hard hitting sex tape yet.”
“Okay, so maybe Alyssa Milano doesn’t get naked in it, but at least we get a concise history of the Syrian civil war and why we should care about it.
That’s pretty hot, right?”
– With a file from The Associated Press
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