Pearl Jam Release Uncensored Version of ‘Jeremy’ Video for First Time

Pearl Jam released the uncensored version of their “Jeremy” video for the first time Friday to mark National Gun Violence Awareness Day.

The Ten song and its corresponding Mark Pellington-directed video — which won Video of the Year at the 1993 MTV Video Music Awards — detailed the story of a bullied teenager who shot himself in front of his classmates.

In the original, edited 1992 video, the suicide is insinuated, but in the uncensored (and newly remastered) version that Pearl Jam uploaded Friday, Jeremy — played by actor Trevor Wilson — is shown placing the gun in his mouth.

“The increase in gun violence since the debut of ‘Jeremy’ is staggering. We have released the uncensored version of the video which was unavailable in 1992 with TV censorship laws,” Pearl Jam said in a statement. “We can prevent gun deaths whether mass shootings, deaths of despair, law enforcement, or accidental.”

Additionally, Pearl Jam updated their early Nineties-era “Choices” t-shirt, which is now available to purchase with proceeds going toward the band’s Vitalogy Foundation to support organizations working to prevent gun violence in the United States. The back of the shirt originally stated “9 out of 10 kids prefer crayons to guns,” while the “Choices 2020” shirt now reads “10 out of 10 kids prefer crayons to guns.”

“The events of this past week have underscored the importance of this issue and remind us that Black Americans are ten times more likely than white Americans to die by gun homicide,” Pearl Jam added.

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In addition to the equity protests taking place around the country, today also marks National Wear Orange Day. The increase in gun violence since the debut of “Jeremy” is staggering. We have released the uncensored version of the video which was unavailable in 1992 with TV censorship laws. We have also released an updated Choices shirt with all proceeds to support organizations working to prevent gun violence. We can prevent gun deaths whether mass shootings, deaths of despair, law enforcement, or accidental. Link in stories to watch the uncensored “Jeremy” video.

A post shared by Pearl Jam (@pearljam) on Jun 5, 2020 at 4:56pm PDT