West video star defends violent promo

The star of Kanye West's controversial new music video has defended the promo - insisting the film does not portray gratuitous violence.

Rita G, a Playboy Playmate from Houston, Texas, stars in the video for West's new single 'Flashing Lights' and is seen beating the rapper while he is tied up in the trunk of a car.

But Rita G insists West expertly planned the scene to ensure it was thought-provoking.

She tells MTV.com: "It's so funny. This video will go over a lot of people's heads - and it's supposed to. I think it's great that it does. Because Kanye is just on another level; he's ahead of his time, in a sense.

"So all the third-graders who come home from school and want to watch videos and snap their fingers and all that, they're probably gonna think: 'That video is wack, but that chick got a fat ass.'

"And that's fine. But people in higher positions, they're gonna see something different. They're gonna get it, people who are thinkers."