On April 14, 2025, Doechii and Vevo released a new episode of Footnotes, giving fans an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the memorable music video for “DENIAL IS A RIVER” from her Grammy Award-winning project Alligator Bites Never Heal. Co-directors Carlos Acosta and James Mackel offer insight into the sitcom-inspired visual, which mirrors Doechii’s personal and artistic evolution.
In the video, both directors explain they immediately pictured a sitcom tone when first listening to the song. Their vision was inspired by iconic ’90s Black sitcoms such as “Family Matters” and “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.”
They detail their process of creating each key moment in the video, including the unforgettable kitchen scene where Doechii slices a cucumber with the same energy she chops up her cheating boyfriend in the lyrics.
The team also reflects on the vibrant energy during the three-day shoot and highlights cameos from comedian Zack Fox and musician SiR. They further reveal that the video was shot on the same soundstage used for “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.”
Regarding the explosion scene, Carlos Acosta and James Mackel said they only had one chance to nail it, so every detail was meticulously planned. It’s also the only moment in the video shot with a handheld camera.
To wrap it up, they disclosed an alternate ending where Doechii collapses, leading EMTs to rush on stage to revive her. However, a power outage during filming created challenges, so they opted for a simpler, cleaner conclusion instead.
TRANSCRIBED BELOW:
0:10 – The moment we heard the song, it sounded very sitcom, and it was the perfect medium for us to communicate Doechii’s story. We looked at episodes of 90’s Black sitcoms as our main inspiration; primarily “Fresh Prince of Bel Air” and “Family Matters.”
0:30 – Carlos Acosta & James Mackel: In the kitchen scene when Doechii is speculating that her boyfriend is cheating, she is seen chopping up a cucumber hinting at you know what.
1:00 – Carlos Acosta & James Mackel: The entire shoot was just so much fun, such positive energy. Because it was a sitcom, a lot of it relied on comedy and our amazing cast killed it with the performances. We couldn’t stop laughing behind the camera.
1:20 still frame on SiR
FACT: There are two cameos in this video, Zach Fox plays Doechii’s cheating boyfriend, and SiR is seen throwing a man out the window.
1:40 – Carlos Acosta & James Mackel: The entire shoot took 3 days. One day of building the entire set and two days of filming the skits and music video. We filmed at a sound stage in Simi valley, which is the same place they filmed the Spawn Ranch scenes in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.”
2:05 – Carlos Acosta & James Mackel: The explosion scene had to be perfect because it was done in one take. When the explosion went off it shook the whole room.
That is the very first time we break the visual language of a sitcom and go handheld.
2:25 – Carlos Acosta & James Mackel: We had an alternate ending where Doechii passes out and EMT’s rush on stage to revive her, but during the last hour of shooting the entire power at the stage shut off. We still filmed it with tube lights, but in the edit we actually went with the cleaner ending in the video.
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