The USS Missouri has a long and storied history. It earned numerous battle stars for its service in three American wars. It was the site where Japan signed its formal surrender that ended World War II. It was the last battleship produced by the United States.
Decommissioned in 1955 and reactivated between 1984 and 1992, the battleship’s retirement made an appearance in the 1992 movie “Under Siege.” In 2012’s “Battleship,” its big guns made their last big bang—digitally, of course.
But perhaps it’s most infamous pop culture moment came in 1989, when Cher sang “If I Could Turn Back Time” in front of the ship’s crew wearing only a one-piece bathing suit and stockings that didn’t leave much to the imagination.
Almost no one but the director (and, presumably, Cher) was happy with the video.
According to the book “I Want My MTV: The Uncensored Story of the Music Video Revolution,” MTV pretty much banned the video outright because of the visibility of Cher’s butt cheeks. The network later rolled that back and would play it only after 9pm, though MTV was still pushing the envelope. “Safe Harbor” programming for broadcasters in the U.S. began at 10pm back then.
You can see how safe the harbor really is in the music video.
The outfit completely surprised the U.S. Navy and its brass, who had given their blessing for the shoot. It also completely stunned the sailors. Once he saw the singer’s costume on the set of the video, the Navy’s entertainment liaison aboard the Missouri told the director to choose something else for Cher to wear. Or go tell her to change.
The director, of course, declined, replying: “You go tell her she can’t wear it.”
“I knew she had tattoos, but I never knew they were so big,” Yeoman 2nd Class Don Cipriano told the Los Angeles Times, referring to the ones seen on Cher’s butt, each of which can be seen in the video.
While the yeomen were thrilled to death, once members of the Navy brass saw the video, the outrage letters began pouring in.
“The U.S. Navy, a part of our government that should stand for what is good and honorable, is putting its stamp of approval on trash like this,” one viewer wrote. “What kind of image did you hope it would give the Navy?”
After all the flak the Navy took for the video, it decreed that never again would musicians be allowed to film music videos on ships of the U.S. Navy. In an attempt to placate the Navy, Cher later filmed parts of the song in a less-revealing outfit and without the crew present to include in the video, but the new version was too little, too late.
And way too little for the Navy.
For Cher, the song completely revived her 20-plus year long career, because it’s not only a banger, it was her second consecutive number one hit on the Billboard charts and was a certified gold record.
For everyone else, Cher’s look in “Turn Back Time” became one of her most memorable and iconic. It was even called one of her greatest of all time. Meanwhile, Navy veterans still wonder why their heterosexuality has been an ongoing joke for every other branch of service.
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