Kanye's "Monster" Video: DOA?

Kanye West's video for his Dark Twisted Fantasy single "Monster," in which several female corpses are strewn around a hotel room, may be dead on arrival.

The video caused a stir when an unfinished version leaked online in January showing West, Rick Ross and Jay-Z in various compromising positions with apparently deceased models. But after the video hit the net, nothing more was heard about it and it never officially premiered. Now, amid protests from an online group and rumors that the clip had been banned, MTV has released a statement saying that "Monster" requires a number of edits before it can be allowed to air.

"MTV has not banned Kanye West's 'Monster' video," the network said in a statement. "We have been in constant communication with the label regarding this matter. However, we are still awaiting the edits we requested in order for the video to be suitable for broadcast."

West hasn't commented on the video since it hit the Web, and its not clear if the leaked visuals were ever intended for a television audience.

"The mainstreaming of videos like this increases desensitized and callous attitudes toward violence against women," said Melinda Tankard Reist, one of the authors of the petition. "Young people are seeing images and absorbing harmful messages which glamorize misogyny and brutalize women. Women are reduced to sex-doll-like playthings. So great is the level of desensitization that the barbaric treatment of women and girls is seen as normal and to be expected. We decided to run this campaign because we wanted to challenge the status quo."

At the time of this writing, the petition, available at Change.org, had attracted over 1,900 signatures.

Kanye's last video controversy came just last month, when his "All of the Lights" clip was temporarily pulled from YouTube for causing seizures. That video now comes with a disclaimer.