"Justify My Love" is the first single by American singer-songwriter Madonna from her 1990 greatest hits compilation The Immaculate Collectionand was released on November 6, 1990, by Sire Records. It caused international controversy due to the accompanying music video which was sexually explicit and even banned by MTV. This outraged Madonna and she appeared on ABC's Nightlineto defend it. The single was also released as a video-single and became the highest selling video single of all-time. When released, the single rose to the top of the Hot 100 (her ninth number one) and many other worldwide charts. The single made number two in the UK Christmas charts selling 228,683 copies.

"Justify My Love" was written by Lenny Kravitz, Ingrid Chavez and Madonna. Kravitz wrote the song for Madonna, based on a poem written by friend and Prince protégé Ingrid Chavez. Kravitz added the title hook and chorus. Madonna contributed a few lines. Chavez was not credited for the song and later sued Kravitz in 1992. She received an out-of-court settlement, and gained a co-writing credit.

Producer Kravitz sampled the intro found on Public Enemy's instrumental, "Security of the First World", and used it as the basis of the song. The song was unique in that Madonna's vocals are primarily spoken and whispered. This style served as a prelude to her next album Erotica, in which she spoke the lyrics on some of the songs rather than singing them. Kravitz provided background vocals. Rumors of a love affair between Kravitz and Madonna sprang up in the press upon the release of the song. Kravitz has denied these rumors.

In 2003, Madonna fans were asked to vote for their Top 20 Madonna singles of all-time by Q-Magazine. "Justify My Love" was allocated the #12 spot.

Rapper Mase sampled the song on his 1999 album, Double Up, on his song "Stay Out of My Way".

The song was covered by rapper Vita and pop–R&B singer Ashanti for The Fast and the Furioussoundtrack in 2001. Vita was originally going to make the version her own featuring her rapping on the re-make, but Madonna shut her down and only cleared the version where Vita does the exact same style as Madonna.

Rapper Jay-Z's song, "Justify My Thug", from his 2003 album, The Black Albumproduced by DJ Quik, is a remake of "Justify My Love." Enigma sampled "Justify My Love" for their "Orthodox Remix" of the 1990 single, "Mea Culpa (Part II)".

Madonna has only performed this song once on her 1993 Girlie Show Tour.

Directed by Jean-Baptiste Mondino, it features Madonna's then-boyfriend, model and actor Tony Ward. Some of the dancers featured in the video were also dancers from her Blond Ambition Tour. The video is a tribute to Jeanne Moreau of La Baie des Anges.

The video was banned by MTV. MTV's pass on the video created a furor that made headlines. The video itself became a bestselling "video single" when it was released on the VHS-format that year.

The video was filmed in grainy black and white in the style of a 1960s European art film. There are also several shadowy film-noir elements such as characters seen only in silhouette. (Much of the imagery echoes an obscure French music video that came out in 1988.) The action takes place in an elegant hotel that apparently caters to alternate lifestyle couples. Madonna (or the character she's playing) enters looking tired and distressed as she walks down the hallway toward her room. There she has a romantic fling with a mysterious man. Some of the doors to the other rooms are ajar and we catch glimpses of various couples cavorting in BDSM fetish outfits (leather, latex bodysuits, and corsets).

In a dream-like sequence, Madonna rolls around in bed wearing skimpy lace underwear while various figures come and go. The only nudity (which led to the video being banned) occurs when a topless dominatrix-type woman — suspenders partly covering her breasts — appears and roughly grabs a bound man (the same man who is with Madonna) by the hair. Her outfit, which includes a peaked leather hat and black gloves, copies the iconic ensemble worn by Charlotte Rampling in the controversial film The Night Porter. (Both the film and the video share elements of sadomasochism.) The theme of androgyny is also briefly alluded to when a woman who closely resembles Madonna's lover is seen in men's clothing with a drawn-on pencil mustache. The overall presentation is surreal and deliberately ambiguous. The retinue of strange characters may be real or simply fantasies from Madonna's imagination. In the end, a rejuvenated Madonna rushes out of the hotel room smiling and laughing.

On December 3, 1990, ABC's Nightlineplayed the video in its entirety, then interviewed Madonna live about the video's sexual content and censorship. When asked whether she stood to make more money selling the video than airing it on MTV, she appeared impatient and answered, "Yeah, so? Lucky me."

The video for "Justify My Love" was banned also from regular rotation on MuchMusic in Canada, although the controversy (as well as the subsequent banning of a video by Mitsou) led MuchMusic to launch a new series, Too Much 4 Much, which played controversial music videos accompanied by panel discussions on their artistic and cultural context.

In mid-2002, this video was aired in its entirety on MTV2 as part of a special countdown showing the most controversial videos ever to air on MTV. This countdown was shown only late at night because of the graphic imagery of "Justify My Love" and several other videos on the countdown.

As of early May 2007, the video has been receiving strong airplay on the late night edition of MuchMusic's request show "Punch Much"; however, the video is still banned in many areas of Canada, where the show is broadcast from. The video has had light to moderate airplay on MuchMoreMusic during its late night music video block.

On the May 11, 1991 episode of the sketch-comedy series Saturday Night Live, Madonna made a guest appearance in a pre-filmed segment which spoofed her controversial music video as well as her just-released Truth or Darefilm.

During a Wayne's World sketch, Wayne (Mike Myers) and Garth (Dana Carvey) encounter a seductive Madonna lying on a bed in a hotel room during a fantasy dream sequence (also filmed in black and white). After some back-and-forth banter, Wayne and Madonna play Truth or Dare. Wayne begins by saying "Truth." Madonna then asks "Have you ever made love with two women at the same time?" Wayne answers "Uh...yes!" to which Madonna says "Okay, I believe you....not!" Wayne then dares Madonna to make out with him. As they kiss, the music for "Justify My Love" begins to play. Garth is then seen dancing in a parody of the video before being abducted by two women in fetish-wear outfits.

"The Beast Within" is a remix of the song, "Justify My Love", by Madonna and Lenny Kravitz, which was included on the 12" release of the single. The remix uses only the chorus and certain lines of the original song, with the verses being replaced by passages from the Book of Revelation from the Bible. As such, and since subsequent live concert performances have simply billed the song as "The Beast Within", a song in its own right, most fans refer to this track as simply "The Beast Within" and do not refer to it as a remix. The song first garnered media attention early in 1991 when the Simon Wiesenthal Center accused the song of containing anti-semitic lyrics; specifically the lyric "those who say that they are Jews, but they are not. They are a Synagogue of Satan". Madonna denied the accusations, explaining that the song was about love, not hatred. Also, one of the verses from which Madonna reads is Revelation 21:8, which gives a list of people including "fornicators" whose "lot shall be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone."

'"The Beast Within" was showcased as a dancers' interlude during the 1993 The Girlie Show World Tour and was used again as the video introduction to the 2004 Re-Invention World Tour. The latter used imagery of Madonna from the exhibition X-STaTIC Pro=CeSS, prior to her appearing on stage. It was subsequently included on the 2006 live album, I'm Going to Tell You a Secret. This new version omits the controversial lyrics which caused the 1991 accusations.