The song's lyrics led to controversy even before it had been officially released. The band had wanted to play "Rape Me" during their appearance at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards, but the network believed the song was a direct attack on them, and insisted they perform their breakthrough single, "Smells Like Teen Spirit," instead. The ongoing argument between MTV and Cobain escalated over the span of several days, with MTV threatening to cut Nirvana from the show, to stop playing the band's music videos, and even to boycott other artists on the band's management company, Gold Mountain. Cobain only relented after being informed that MTV would fire Amy Finnerty, an MTV employee and friend of the band's, if the band played "Rape Me". The band ultimately agreed to play their latest single, "Lithium," but not before Cobain started playing the chords and singing the opening lines of "Rape Me," which resulted in the live broadcast almost going to commercial.