Blurred Lines Beating Arrest In Florida, Man Whipped Girl To Song’s Beat

The song “Blurred Lines” has been decried for its somewhat abuse-promoting lyrics, but a Florida man used the track in a far more directly harmful way — beating his daughter to the tune of the song and filming the incident.

In Molina, Florida, Steven Grady Fillingim was arrested for allegedly beating his daughter to the tune of “Blurred Lines,” during the course of a lengthy physical discipline session.

Later reports indicate that Fillingim, 40, filmed the abuse and texted a clip of the “Blurred Lines” beating to his girlfriend. PNJ.com reports:

“Fillingim’s girlfriend, Lisa Coleman, told officers on Sunday she had witnessed him strike the victim with a belt as well as forcing the child to hold a weight. Coleman said Fillingim had ordered her to mind her own business. She said she no longer wished to be in a relationship with Fillingim… According to a police report, Fillingim’s girlfriend sent the officer a video from her phone, which she had titled ‘She’s Home.’ ”

Due to the involvement of a minor, the Blurred Lines beating reports are a bit hazy. The girl told police that Fillingham had beaten her across the back of her thighs and around her face, and that she was forced to carry out arduous physical tasks as discipline for transgressions that included not “vacuuming bugs off the carpet.”

In addition to the use of “Blurred Lines” during physical abuse, the girl was also allegedly made to hold a twenty pound weight in front of her and an eight pound weight behind her for an unspecified time before being told to dig in the yard for more than an hour and a half. She says that at 1:30 AM, she was allowed to go to bed.

Police say the “Blurred Lines” beating video obtained from Coleman’s phone does not show the victim’s face, but that marks on her thighs are consistent with the marks seen in the video.