The rest of the world didn’t see video vixens this way, though. At the time, many of the rappers and directors who hired the models for the music videos viewed them as nothing more than objects to be displayed, consumed, and discarded. Their work behind the scenes, building their own wardrobes and helping directors create concepts and construct aesthetics, were often uncredited. Instead, some of the musical acts who slept with the women (or who wanted to but couldn’t) disparaged them in their lyrics or interviews. Most infamously, The Game took a jab at Ford in his 2006 song “Wouldn’t Get Far.” In it, he raps, “they don’t know Melyssa Ford drive a Honda Accord / She a video vixen / but behind closed doors, she do whatever it take to get to the Grammy Awards.” In a 2019 conversation with Claudia Jordan’s “Out Loud,” Ford said that the line had a devastating impact on her wellbeing. “That song destroyed my relationship because of the way people talked about me,” she said. “… I didn’t even know Game. I only met him once when he was one of 50’s G-Unit soldiers. All of this was my cross to bear and it was so difficult because no one stood up for me. No one defended me.”
