Britney Spears Premiering "Criminal" Video Next Week

Filming behind Britney Spears’ latest single has caused controversy in England, primarily because of the theme’s and location’s proximity to the London riots in August, but over the last few days, Spears and director Chris Marrs Piliero confirmed that the video will premiere next week. Spears tweeted on October 13: “Just saw the final cut of the Criminal video we shot in London. It's so hot. Can't wait for you guys to see it next week. –Britney”

Piliero, additionally, wrote: “CRIMINAL VIDEO NEXT WEEK... RT”

Without giving too many details away through Twitter, the director also wrote before the announcement: “not a whole lot i'm allowed to say about the @britneyspears criminal vid other than that i love this video and can't wait for it to come out […]oh and that she looks gorgeous in it... pretty sure it's cool for me to say that...”

“Criminal” was filmed before Spears started the European leg of her Femme Fatale tour. The video features her and boyfriend Jason Trawick, and during filming, Spears was photographed holding a prop gun. This image caught the attention of the local government in Hackney, a borough of London where “Criminal” was filmed. Hackney's Member of Parliament, Diane Abbott, mentioned to the ITV news program London Tonight: "It is only a music video, but it's images like this, with pop stars glamorizing gangs, which means that some young people ... get drawn in. Britney should really know better."

Stoke Newington Town Hall gave Spears’ crew permission to film. If, however, they knew beforehand that a gun would be used in the video, they would have rescinded the offer. The council said in a statement: "In this case we did not agree that a replica gun could be used at Stoke Newington Town Hall and are disappointed. We will be raising this matter with the production company."

Those in Spears camp say that the theme of the video is simply a coincidence. A statement about the discord read: "The video is a fantasy story featuring Britney's boyfriend, Jason Trawick, which literally plays out the lyrics of a song written three years before the riots ever happened."