"The Bad Touch" is a song by American

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

band

Bloodhound Gang The Bloodhound Gang is an American rock band formed by James "Jimmy Pop" Franks and Michael "Daddy Long Legs" Bowe in 1992 in Quakertown, Pennsylvania. Pop is the sole constant member of the band. Its line-up since 2009 has consisted of Pop ( ...

. It was released in September 1999 as the second single from their third studio album, ''

Hooray for Boobies ''Hooray for Boobies'' is the third studio album by American rock band Bloodhound Gang. It was released on October 4, 1999, in the United Kingdom and on February 29, 2000, in the United States. Produced by Jimmy Pop and Richard Gavalis, it is ...

'', which was released the following year in the United States and United Kingdom. In most territories, the song was released as the first single from the album, as "

Along Comes Mary "Along Comes Mary" is a song composed by Tandyn Almer, originally recorded by American sunshine pop band the Association. It was the group's first hit, released in March 1966 as the lead single prior to their debut album, '' And Then... Along ...

" was issued only in German-speaking Europe. "The Bad Touch" became a hit in Europe throughout late 1999 and early 2000, reaching number one in

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Scotland, Spain, and Sweden. Outside Europe, the song peaked at number five in Australia, number four in New Zealand, number nine in Canada, and number 52 in the United States. In Ireland, the song won a Meteor Music Award for Best Selling International Single – Group. The song was remixed by many artists, including

God Lives Underwater God Lives Underwater was an American rock band, formed during 1993 in Perkiomenville, Pennsylvania by vocalist/programmer David Reilly and guitarist/programmer Jeff Turzo. They were later joined by guitarist Andrew McGee and drummer Adam Kar ...

KMFDM KMFDM (originally Kein Mehrheit Für Die Mitleid, loosely translated by the band as "no pity for the majority") is a multinational industrial rock band from Hamburg led by Sascha Konietzko, who founded the band in 1984 as a performance art proje ...

, and

Eiffel 65 Eiffel 65 are an Italian Eurodance group formed in 1997 in the studios of the Turin based record company Bliss Corporation. The group consists of Jeffrey Jey, Maurizio Lobina, and formerly Gabry Ponte. They gained global popularity with their ...

Music video

The song's video features the band dressed in "MonkeyRat" costumes with oversized ears, in numerous locations in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, including the Place de l'Estrapade, Avenue de Saxe, and

Champ de Mars Champ, CHAMP or The Champ may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Champ (cartoon character), an animated dog introduced in 1960 * The Champ, played on radio and created by Jake Edwards (radio personality), Jake Edwards * Champ ...

; the

Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower ( ; ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower from 1887 to 1889. Locally nicknamed "''La dame de fe ...

is visible in many shots. During the video, the band uses

blowgun A blowgun (also called a blowpipe or blow tube) is a simple ranged weapon consisting of a long narrow tube for shooting light projectiles such as darts. It operates by having the projectile placed inside the pipe and using the force created by ...

s to shoot

tranquilizer dart A sedative or tranquilliser is a substance that induces sedation by reducing irritability or excitement. They are central nervous system (CNS) depressants and interact with brain activity, causing its deceleration. Various kinds of sedatives c ...

s into the buttocks of four passing young women, then carry them away. They then use a fishing rod to dangle a

croissant A croissant (, ) is a French cuisine, French pastry in a crescent shape made from a laminated yeast dough similar to puff pastry. It is a buttery, flaky, ''viennoiserie'' pastry inspired by the shape of the Austrian cuisine, Austrian ''Kifli, ...

in front of a group of chefs, enticing them to follow. The band members dance around for a few seconds and then lure three chefs into following them. The band members swallow several

mealworm Mealworms are the larval form of the yellow mealworm beetle, ''Tenebrio molitor'', a species of darkling beetle. The yellow mealworm beetle prefers a warmer climate and higher humidity. Male mealworm beetles release a sex pheromone to attract ...

s before finding two

effeminate Effeminacy or male femininity is the embodiment of feminine traits in boys or men, particularly those considered untypical of men or masculinity. These traits include roles, stereotypes, behaviors, and appearances that are socially associated wi ...

gay men in a café, who are then beaten over the head with

baguette A baguette (; ) is a long, thin type of bread of French origin that is commonly made from basic lean dough (the dough, not the shape, is defined by French law). It is distinguishable by its length and crisp crust. A baguette has a diameter ...

s and knocked unconscious. A

mime artist A mime artist, or simply mime (from Greek language, Greek , , "imitator, actor"), is a person who uses ''mime'' (also called ''pantomime'' outside of Britain), the acting out of a story through body motions without the use of speech, as a the ...

played by actor

Jordan Prentice Jordan Prentice (born January 30, 1973) is a Canadian actor. A self-described "person of short stature", he is known for his portrayal of Rock in '' American Pie Presents: The Naked Mile'' and '' American Pie Presents: Beta House'', Jimmy in ' ...

is captured in a net then thrown into a cage with the four women, three chefs and gay couple in a parody of animal-collectors capturing frightened specimens. The band leap around the cage, taunting their captives. As the song draws to an end, the prisoners are released and all dance together in formation in the street. The mime artist escapes and is run over by a speeding

Renault 5 The Renault 5 is a five-passenger, three or five-door, front-engine, front-wheel drive hatchback supermini manufactured and marketed by the French automaker Renault over two generations: 1972–1985 (also called R5) and 1984–1996 (also call ...

car driven by Lüpüs Thünder. The uncensored version of the video shows the band playing with and eating a brown semi-liquid food, with the implication it is

diarrhea Diarrhea (American English), also spelled diarrhoea or diarrhœa (British English), is the condition of having at least three loose, liquid, or watery bowel movements in a day. It often lasts for a few days and can result in dehydration d ...

, and a beginning which features them feigning sex in a doggy-style position rather than dancing as in the clean version. The violent capture of the gay couple is also missing from some versions.

Controversy

A scene in the video featuring a pair of gay men, who share

french fries French fries, or simply fries, also known as chips, and finger chips (Indian English), are '' batonnet'' or '' julienne''-cut deep-fried potatoes of disputed origin. They are prepared by cutting potatoes into even strips, drying them, and f ...

and are subsequently beaten by the band members with baguettes, was cut after it premiered.

GLAAD GLAAD () is an American non-governmental media monitoring organization. Originally founded as a protest against defamatory coverage of gay and lesbian demographics and their portrayals in the media and entertainment industries, it has since ...

complained about the scene to

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

stating "a

gay-bashing Gay bashing is an attack, abuse, or assault committed against a person who is perceived by the aggressor to be gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or queer (LGBTQ+). It includes both violence against LGBTQ people and LGBTQ bullying. The term ...

scene in any context in today's climate is not acceptable". MTV reviewed the video and suggested to

Geffen Records Geffen Records (formerly The David Geffen Company from 1980 to 1992 and Geffen Records Inc. from 1993 to 2004) is an American record label, founded in late 1980 by David Geffen. Originally a music subsidiary of the company known as Geffen Pi ...

that the scene be cut; Geffen complied and released an edited version of the video. Lead singer

Jimmy Pop James Moyer Franks (born August 27, 1972), better known by his stage name Jimmy Pop (originally Jimmy Pop Ali), is an American musician. He is best known as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, primary songwriter, and one of the founding members ...

commented: "I would give any gay man two tickets to the

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948) is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End theatre, West End and on Broadway theatre, Broad ...

musical of his choice if he could describe exactly who's going to become violent based on that scene."

Track listings

US 12-inch single :A1. "The Bad Touch" (The Bloodhound Gang mix) :A2. "The Bad Touch" (The

mix) :A3. "The Bad Touch" (The

mix) :B1. "The Bad Touch" (The

Rollergirl Nicole Safft (born 19 November 1975), known professionally as Rollergirl, is a German singer with a number of successful tracks such as " Dear Jessie" (a loose cover of the Madonna song) and " Luv U More", a cover of the Sunscreem song. Biog ...

mix) :B2. "The Bad Touch" (The K.M.F.D.M. mix) :B3. "The Bad Touch" (The Bully mix) European CD single # "The Bad Touch" (LP version) – 4:23 # "

" (The Bloodhound Gang mix) – 3:20 European 12-inch single :A1. "The Bad Touch" (Eiffel 65 extended mix) – 4:28 :A2. "The Bad Touch" (12-inch Rollerbabe mix) – 5:59 :B1. "The Bad Touch" (album version) – 4:19 :B2. "The Bad Touch" (12-inch instrumental Rollerboogie mix) – 5:55 European and Australian maxi-CD single # "The Bad Touch" (LP version) – 4:23 # "The Bad Touch" (The God Lives Underwater mix) – 4:26 # "The Bad Touch" (The K.M.F.D.M. mix) – 4:19 # "Along Comes Mary" (The Bloodhound Gang mix) – 3:19 # "Kiss Me Where It Smells Funny" (video) – 3:27

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bad Touch, The 1999 songs 1999 singles Bloodhound Gang songs Dance-pop songs Eurodisco songs Geffen Records singles Irish Singles Chart number-one singles LGBTQ-related controversies in music List songs Music video controversies Music videos shot in France Number-one singles in Germany Number-one singles in Italy Number-one singles in Norway Number-one singles in Scotland Number-one singles in Spain Number-one singles in Sweden Songs written by Jimmy Pop Ultratop 50 Singles (Flanders) number-one singles