Synopsis

Sublime's video follows the song's grimly comic narrative. A woman meets a seemingly friendly man at a bar, accepts his invitation for a ride, and is assaulted after he ignores her refusal. She fights back, reports him to the police, and takes him to court. After the judge sentences him to 25 years, the story delivers an intentionally exaggerated revenge twist in jail. Intercut with the storyline are rough live-performance scenes that capture the band's unruly early-1990s energy.

Factoids & Trivia

• The video was filmed in 1995 and combines staged narrative footage with live shots of Sublime performing.

• The live-performance material was shot at Fern's Dive Bar in Long Beach, California. Fern's was a bar rather than a conventional concert venue, and the band performed in front of its keg refrigerator.

• The storyline footage was filmed about two weeks after the live material. The delay reportedly followed an incident in which Sublime's Dalmatian, Louie, bit actor Z-Man on the lip, requiring more than 30 stitches.

• Pornographic actor Ron Jeremy appears in the courtroom and jail portions, playing multiple roles in the video's deliberately absurd punishment sequence.

• "Date Rape" became Sublime's breakthrough local radio song after KROQ began playing it heavily. The video's rough, confrontational presentation helped preserve the song's connection to the band's Long Beach punk and ska scene.

• The video's comic treatment of sexual assault was controversial even when the song first gained attention. Contemporary criticism focused on its simplistic handling of a serious subject, despite the narrative's stated condemnation of the attacker.