‘Brown’s actions on the night and since the attack should not be forgotten….’
Hayley Simpson
I am not the biggest Rihanna fan, but the criticism she has received over her latest musical collaborations with Chris Brown to me just isn’t fair.
As a victim, she has no obligations to become a poster-woman for domestic abuse. As a convicted criminal however, Chris Brown’s actions on the night and since the attack should not be forgotten.
When Chris Brown was invited to perform at the Grammys last month it was the music industry welcoming him back into the club. He’d sat on the naughty step long enough. “He was young, he made a mistake and now he has done his time,” people said.
First of all, a ‘mistake’ is when you’re caught stealing pick and mix sweets from the corner shop. It’s a ‘mistake’ to put a kiss on the end of an email to your boss.
A mistake is NOT battering a woman repeatedly in a moving vehicle, biting her till she bled, pummelling her in the face and choking her to the point of nearly losing consciousness.
No remorse
CB demonstrated his remorse for the attack in spectacular fashion by commissioning a $300,000 diamond encrusted necklace spelling the word ‘OOPS’, which to me, was like Homer Simpson hitting his head and exclaiming “DOH!”
Judging by the Twitter reaction following his performance at the Grammys his adoring fans seemed to adopt a similarly nonchalant attitude towards his crime.
“Chris Brown can punch me in the face as much as he wants to, just as long as he kisses it.”
“Chris Brown can punch me whenever he wants #love.”
These are just two tweets from a pool of poor, misguided young women who have become sad products of a society which shrugs off domestic abuse.
When considering that 1 in 4 women are victims of domestic violence and on average 2 women a week are killed as a result, it begs the question as to why a crime with such alarming statistics is not being taken seriously.
Team Brown, or ‘Breezy’ as they like to be known, don’t seem to like the way Chris Brown is hated when there are examples of other Hollywood stars, like Sean Penn, with domestic abuse charges who are ‘allowed’ to pursue their careers without criticism.
Just because there is a culture of silence surrounding domestic abuse allegations does not make it okay or right. And I am not just speaking about the silence of victims. I am talking about the silence from fans of celebrities who support them in spite of their violent convictions.
Many of you will be fans of Chris Brown’s music, but whether you like it or not, by buying his music you are putting money in the fists of a man who beat a woman. To me, that silence is what is most deafening.