Black ‘Friday’: Rebecca Black Pulls Video from YouTube

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Ethan Miller / Getty Images

Singer Rebecca Black appears at MTV's inaugural "O Music Awards" April 28, 2011 in Las Vegas.

It’s sure to be a dismal day for anyone hoping to get down on Friday. Rebecca Black’s ode to today is no longer on YouTube.

A copyright claim from the singer herself has led to YouTube blocking the video. Users who attempt to load the video for the de facto Friday anthem will instead see a message alerting them of the removal.

The song became an oft-quoted earworm featuring hilariously bad lyrics, quickly rocketing to the most-disliked song on YouTube. Black became ubiquitous, a veritable household name for Internet lovers. But it appears the spotlight wasn’t all glamour for the 13-year-old, as she’s now engaged in a dispute with Ark Music Factory, the production company that initially rocketed her to stardom.

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However, Rebecca’s young heart is in the right place. In fact, she’s looking out for her fans in removing the video from YouTube, as last week Ark made “Friday” a rental video, forcing users to pay $2.99 to watch the clip. The disagreement between Black and Ark stems from the fact that Black’s family paid the company for the video, and they claim they should own the rights – and the royalties.

While it’s unclear if the lawsuit will keep the video off YouTube for a while, the proceedings will surely not be fun, fun, fun, fun for anyone, especially mournful viewers. But of course, this being the Internet, there are hundreds of other sites hosting the video.

UPDATE: It appears the video has quickly resurfaced on YouTube, seemingly under the VEVO label and now labeled a “Director’s Cut,” but with no noticeable differences. VEVO, a music video syndicate, has contracted with major record labels to offer music videos legally on YouTube, with a royalty-sharing agreement. With this boon of good news, if you’re not one of the 167 million viewers who clicked the original video on YouTube, we’ve provided you some help below.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GWdwnNRk34&w=450]

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