Thicke's Latest Video Tries to Be Cute, Isn't

In the past months since his divorce from Paula Patton, Robin Thicke has quickly spiraled from the "objectification-happy sexist" creep of "Blurred Lines" and Miley-grinding to the "wow, man, maybe you should get some help" creep of a man who is clearly going out of his way to have a public breakdown. So far, off the aptly titled album Paula , we've been treated to the nightmarish guilt trip of the "Get Her Back" video, as well as a gushy, overly cryptic interview on Hot 97 and an ill-conceived public apology at the BET Awards — one that appeared to have Thicke sniffling mid-song, but most likely left fans with their eyes freshly rolled. Perhaps taking a cue from the snort-worthy car wreck that was his recent #AskThicke Twitter campaign, a PR attempt (righteously) trolled by his detractors, the singer has now gone clean — and squeakily so — for his most recent music video, "Still Madly Crazy."

This time, the blithely generalized romantic ballad has been ornamented, not by HotLadyBodies™ or his oh-so-bruised face, but by wedding-ready boy-girl pairs of little kids, whose sweetly tuneless little kid voices join Thicke's on most of the lyrics. At one point, the video even breaks down to have them recite snippets of wedding speeches they are clearly too young to have written — "Remember what happened in Vegas, right? Don't worry, I won't go there..." — which, according to Us Weekly, were "inspired by his 2005 nuptials to Paula Patton."

Indeed, even though this video is doused in a lethal dose of cuteness, it still comes off as cloying and desperate as ever. Though her name may, for once, not get an explicit mention, there's no secret about the song's subject or Thicke's intentions — the album is still called Paula, after all. In fact, implicating all of these doe-eyed innocents in the process only makes it infinitely worse, his unflagging scumbaggery having claimed even more victims.

There may not yet be a way to retroactively change an album title, or to scrub past events from public memory, but I suggest that Thicke work on inventing one, pronto — or, that his next tearful apology to Patton be for the unenviable position he's put her in throughout all of this insanity, by purporting to flaunt their personal problems on so public a stage. Because, at least in my experience, most women don't like to be cornered, coerced, or berated into relationships. Even by adorable children in formal wear.

Watch the video, below, and see what you think:

Image: RobinThickeVEVO/YouTube