After Adam Lambert grinded his crotch in a guy’s face at the American Music Awards last week, Good Morning America canceled his scheduled appearance. They claimed that he was an unpredictable performer, and they were worried what might happen on a live show which airs early in the morning. The “early in the morning” thing, I believe, meaning that little kids and old people are more likely to be awake and watching. Honestly, I understand why they’d feel a little nervous about it. But it turns out GMA certainly isn’t altogether opposed to controversy: they’ve just booked Chris Brown. You know, the girlfriend beater/biter.
GMA’s argument is that they’re airing a pre-taped interview with Brown, and he should have the right to respond to Rihanna’s interview, which was also aired by the network. Fair enough. But they’re also letting him perform, and that’s where the hypocrisy comes into play.
ABC has booked Rihanna-beater Chris Brown for an interview and a performance on “Good Morning America” — right after the network canceled guy-kisser Adam Lambert. Brown will do a taped tell-all with Robin Roberts, followed by a performance of songs from his new album. But TV insiders say the appearance, slated to air the week after next, has outraged feminists and gay activists who wonder why a convicted girlfriend abuser is more palatable to the network than an openly gay man who broke no laws with his raunchy performance on the “American Music Awards.”
An ABC source said, “The network is giving a mixed message — that it doesn’t trust someone who shocked with an unpredictable show and a gay kiss, but then it is happy to go ahead with Chris Brown, who was convicted of felony assault.” ABC News has insisted that Lambert’s sexual orientation did not play a role in its decision to pull the plug on his “GMA” appearance this week.
ABC insiders said they ruled the “American Idol” star’s sexed-up shenanigans on Sunday’s awards show — which included him groping a female dancer, kissing a male musician and shoving a male dancer’s face into his crotch — were inappropriate for morning TV. One said, “He was not canceled over a gay kiss. He showed himself to be unpredictable on live TV.”
Brown, who taped his interview with Roberts last weekend, was sentenced in August to six months’ labor and five years’ probation after he pleaded guilty to assaulting Rihanna in February. “GMA” hopes his appearance could provide a ratings boost, just like Rihanna’s “GMA” interview earlier this month where she told Diane Sawyer she saw “no soul in his eyes” as he beat her. The top ABC insider added: “Chris Brown’s interview was booked way before Adam Lambert took to the stage. It is to give him a chance to respond to Rihanna’s interview. The possibility of him performing a song will be worked out next week.”
[From the New York Post]
I understand the network giving Chris Brown a platform to respond to Rihanna. What they shouldn’t do is give him a platform to further his career and promote his new album. But clearly right and wrong are not at play at all here. It’s just weighing ratings vs. possible outrage. Adam Lambert is not going to pull in people who wouldn’t normally watch “Good Morning America.” Chris Brown will. Not for his talent but for his crimes. Adam Lambert hasn’t committed any crimes, besides some against good taste. And I’d hazard that most people are only vaguely aware of Lambert, whereas Chris Brown is – unfortunately – much better known. GMA is worried about what Lambert might do live on air. Thus the whole “unpredictable” thing. Chris Brown is obviously not going to be unpredictable in concert. If nothing else, he’s incredibly eager to get his career back, and doing something over the line on stage is highly unlikely.
I’m not defending any of this, I’m just guessing that’s the rationale. And it’s a poor one. To the best of my knowledge, Rihanna hasn’t done any interviews where she’s talked about getting the sh*t beaten out of her, then gone on stage and belted out a few songs. It would be in poor taste, and should be one or the other. I hope “Good Morning America” gets enough criticism sent their way that they don’t let Chris Brown perform live. I absolutely don’t think the guy deserves a second chance, but that’s just my opinion. But I don’t think you can argue that it’s appropriate for him to give a theoretically serious interview, and then jump around singing his latest single later in the show.
I agree. This is in extremely poor taste, and I’m both appalled and repulsed by the lengths to which networks will go for the sake of ratings – even when the dignity and integrity of people (including the audience), are compromised.
This said, I think that this lends further support to Adam Lambert’s claims that homophobia is behind his being censored/turned down. Apparently, being gay and tacky is very wrong, but if you beat the hell out of your girlfriend, strangle and bite her, you deserve to tell your side of the story and further promote your career.
Apparently, we STILL live in the 1950s.
While I tend to agree with you, I will say this:
While Rihana didn’t give interviews and then perform, she also did not give a rat’s ass about being a “role model to her fans” until she had a new album/CD dropping. She had the opportunity to speak out many times over, and I find it distasteful that she waited until her new album/CD dropped to do so. Waiting made it appear that self-promotion was her motive, not being a role model.
Please don’t attack me; I was also battered by my boyfriend at 19 years old. This is just my 2 cents.
I know what you’re saying Bella but maybe she just felt ashamed and embarrassed to talk until she was contractually obliged to give interviews. Sometimes you need time to process things. It was her experience – I don’t think she owes anyone anything as a role model.
I would have felt a bit uncomfortable with her rushing to give interviews straight away for no reason other than assuming that everyone needed to hear her story.
I agree, K, with the whole time to process thing. You definitely need time to process, and time to heal and get back to being yourself. It just had a slightly hollow ring to it (to me) that it coincided with the release of the CD. Once she started the whole gun tattoo thing, partying and putting herself back out there (which was probably her way of getting back to being herself, regaining her strength), she could have said something then. Or she could have waited for a public awareness venue, and been a speaker there.
(On a total sidebar, was Chris not the biggest ass when he said that what happened between them should have stayed private? I could not believe he said that!)
That being said, there are certainly things she would probably like to keep to herself, and she should certainly have that right. There are things my ex did to me that will, despite counseling/therapy, stay between me and God.
p.s. that I said she didn’t give a rat’s ass previously sounds really harsh, and I don’t mean it that way…I should have phrased that differently.
Chris Brown’s platform was when he decided to beat the crap out of Rhianna. That spoke volume’s about what he had to say then and it still speaks for him and the kind of person he is now.
I will spare everyone of my usual rants about domestic abuse, since most of the regular posters here are well aware of my feelings on Brown and the men out there just like him.
Bring on the apologists….I have left over Thanksgiving to share when the spectacle begins!
So because Chris Brown is being forgiven by people he gets to perform on GMA.
Some people need to grow up.
In all honesty Adam Lambert fans make him look really bad.
He said himself he doesn’t care.
Why is this an issue???because its chris brown???
Still confused
See, this is what I don’t understand about American TV shows. These two had their day in court and yet, networks still enable violence against women by giving him a voice and media time…in the same way OJ Simpson was given media time. It’s sickening.
I’m all for freedom of the press, that includes broadcast media, but put his ass in front of Bill Maher or something for god’s sake. Let’s see him on the Rollins Show. Stick him in a chair across from Katie Couric or Barbara Walters (is Baba Wawa still doing interviews? I can’t keep up).
@Bete- It’s all about ratings. The networks could give a crap less about what kind of messsage they are sending.
ITA, it is sickening!
@Bete
How is it enabling violence against women???
Is he going to hit a women on TV when he performs???
He deserves to be a voice just as much as Rihanna. They both play their part in showing people what the consequences on their decisions were.
Brown should be allowed to show people what the consequences are for this type of behavior. That’s just my opinion.
I agree Firestarter – so much for responsible journalism.
@Sarah- Consequences? He still has a problem even admitting that he did anything wrong, and has glossed over it and made excuses for his behavior, along with the people who support the little creep.
He doesn’t want to impart what he has learned from the situation to anyone, he wants to save what is left of his career, by swearing that he is a changed person and that it wasn’t all his fault.
The minute he decided to take their argument to a physical level with his fists, it became a situation that was all his fault and he shouldn’t be allowed to try and convince people otherwise.
If he wanted to be a voice of something, then he should have been the voice of reason the night that he beat the crap out of the woman he professed to have loved. His voice was heard loudly and clearly then, and nothing has changed, other then he is now outed as a woman beater.
Oh sure people change, but rarely do women beaters. He will be on his best behavior until another woman angers him years down the road. For now, his handlers will make sure he is a “nice guy”. Remove them from the equasion some time in the future and I bet he will return to his Ike Turner ways. He is on probation for I think 5 years, so I can assure you, he won’t be doing anything to risk actual jail time (like most celebs, other than Robert Downey Jr, they usually can break probation multiple times and still remain free) but once he is a man off probation, he will be the same a-hole he was several months back.
Screw him and his desire to speak. He already did, just not verbally.
Sarah, any man who bashes women is a social scourge. People like that shouldn’t be given air time. He was found guilty. He is guilty and that’s it. Putting him on television practically tells other males that it’s not that terrible to hit a woman.
What consequences Sarah? He isn’t in jail. He’s on TV! Hello.
More TV air time…more records…more promotion and more celebrity. That’s what the consequences will be for Chris Brown as long as networks want to pretend to be sympathetic for ‘his side of the story.’
If it all boiled down to the crap on network television then we may as well not have law courts.
Key quote:
“If he wanted to be a voice of something, then he should have been the voice of reason the night that he beat the crap out of the woman he professed to have loved.”
Spot on Firestarter.
I know I am going to get slammed for this but it needs to be said. The whole Chris Brown/Rihanna debacle is total hypocrisy. I am so sick of the persecution of this kid just because he beat up on a singer who people like. HEAR ME OUT. My point is- how many singers, rappers, and athletes beat up on their wives/ girlfrien
ds/ other women and no one blinks an eye? No one cares because these women are not famous, the abusers are punished but are not ostracized in their professions. What makes Rihanna so special? Are you telling me Jay Z never slapped any women around back in his drug dealing days? At least a quarter of the NFL is guilty of battery! Please tell me the name of a rapper or football player who lost his career over hitting a woman. Look, Rihanna did not deserve that beating. And I am not defending Chris Brown. I just don’t feel very good about the underlying message here. There must be thousands of assaults by famous men but this one kid should lose his career because we like his girl? Every abused woman feels pain, not just Rihanna. That said, I do think the live singing is a bit tacky yet. He should lie low for a bit. @bella- your words were heartbreaking. I hope all is better now.
Sorry, but what the heck does ITA mean? Thanks.
@ nj — you’re totally missing the point. Nobody is giving any woman beater a free pass when they beat up on a woman. I knew a guy who beat up his girlfriend and bragged about putting her in her place. I told him to his face he was a piece of dog shit and a fcuking coward. The same thing I’d tell Chris Brown to his face if I ever met him.
(@ SolitaryAngel: ITA = I Totally Agree.)
nj…give us the names of these beaters you are talking about. Don’t be vague. As far as Chris goes, plenty of people WOULD LIKE to smack someone. You just can’t act on it. Heck, I wouldn’t mind smacking Rihanna myself. Just too damn good looking for jail! (OK just kidding about the good looking part)
I really don’t understand why everyone hates CB so much. No one really knows all the details of what went on that night. It’s been reported before that Rihanna has a violent past of her own, how do we know that she wasn’t the abuser all along and he just snapped because he couldn’t take it anymore? It very well could’ve been that he just lost it and attacked her without provocation, we all know that does happen but was that the case here? Has no one read the Complex article in which she openly admitted to hitting her own brother in the face with a glass bottle during an argument? Or how about the numerous fights that she and CB had where she hauled off and punched or slapped him? Is that type of behavior considered acceptable? I am not at all condoning domestic violence in any way, my dad abused my mom in front of me when I was a child and that is never acceptable, but why shouldn’t he get the chance to share his side of the story? Neither of these two is completely innocent in this incident no matter what anyone says. They obviously had an extremely volatile relationship that even Rihanna says they both helped to escalate.
I am not a shrink or behavior analyst, but what study states with such authority that a batterer will never change. Listen, I personally cannot even look at Chris Brown with anything but disgust because of his utter lack of introspection and understanding of his responsibility. But I do believe that if he did regain that ‘soul in his eyes’ with reflection and therapy, he would not continue to be abusive. I’m not saying this with any authority, but I don’t think we should write off this guy as hopeless.
JMO
I will call my local station and tell them that I think it’s a bad call on their networks choice have him on.
OMG!Are you kidding me Baby Girl111?! Are you effing kidding me? As usual, there ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS has to be some clueless person who does not get what the hatred and disgust is about.
He didn’t just “snap”. And we DO know the details of what happened that night from both Brown (who denies not one word of Rihanna’s acct. of the events that took place that evening) and Rihanna.
For those of you too slow to grasp the concept I will explain it for the 1 millionth time:
A MAN HAS NO BUSINESS EVER TAKING A HAND TO A WOMAN. PERIOD! The only time it is remotely acceptable is when the man FEARS for his life or is defending his family from some crazed beast, otherwise, THERE IS NO EXCUSE! Civilized men do not “snap” and use their fists to pummel the crap out of a woman. An angry, abusive POS does. It matters not what she may or may not have done to him, the photos tell the tale of a man who had NO CONTROL and did not give an eff what he did to the woman he supposedly loved so much. ONE hand to a woman is bad enough, beating her until she is black, blue, cut and swollen like a freak in a horror show is INEXCUSIBLE.
If you think that even if she had hit him first (Which by the way DID NOT happen) that he was within his rights to do what he did to her, you are nuttier than Chris Brown
Apologists, please make excuses for the little SOB all you want, because until you have a man beating the s*** out of you, you have no idea what fear is all about. No woman (yeah, I know, I have said this all many times before) deserves what Rihanna got. Those that think that deserve to be with a man like Chris Brown.
Ignorant, uneducated morons solve things with their fists. A decent man leaves a woman who inspires such anger within himself, and takes the high road. Beating someone into submission is about control, humiliation and domination. It is about trashing a person’s self esteem and a means to make that person a submissive servant to an angry persons whims. A REAL MAN knows when to back off and leave, a coward POS of s*** stays and beats on a woman.
I am so tired of people who make excuses over and over for this piece of trash, and other men who beat women. There is always a reason and the woman that gets beat, somehow gets the blame from everyone around her. Reasons like these are why women stay in abusive relationships, don’t report rapes or abuse, because no one thinks that the man is EVER at fault. It has to be the woman, of inferior strength and size, who has to be the catalyst for all the evil that pours for from a poor little innocent man.
Face it, Chris Brown is a low life, woman beating, coward who received no punishment for what he did to that woman. He deserves to be in jail with all the other criminals of no fame who do end up there for beating women. He got off with a slap on the wrist, which is far from what he did to Rihanna!
I think it’s interesting that women and men alike assume that a person who causes this magnitude of damage to another human ‘snapped’. Or that he’s ‘normally nice but freaked’.
I actually consider people like that to be the opposite. He was showing his true colors when he gave into his rage. A rage that no doubt was simmering under every photo-op and boyish laugh. He choked her because it made him feel good. Because he liked it.
These men are monsters. And I’ve met more than a few of them. They will smile, they will repent, but when Rihanna saw ‘no soul in his eyes’ it wasn’t that he lost it. It was never there to begin with. The facade was removed and she saw him for what he really was. A violent sociopath.
Men who choke, bite, and hurt are not what you think they are…humans with faults. They are not good guys who made mistakes. These are men like OJ or Polanski that slit open throats and rape children because they like it. Because it makes them feel better.
When women tell me, “he’s like Jekyll and Hyde” I try to remind them that in the story there never really was a Jekyll. The only time he felt genuine was when he was Hyde. The same goes with abusers. To me they are like rapists. I will never and can never, trust them. They will always be what they gave into. They don’t change. They never do. If you need proof on that visit your local women’s shelter.
@19 Are you seriously defending a “man” who beat up a woman? Are you fucking kidding me?!
He should be in jail!!!!!!!!!!!
@Julie- Why don’t you visit a women’s shelter some time, they have all the statistics that you will ever need regarding abusive men, and the likelihood that they will do it again and again. Listen to the women there speak about going back and hearing the “Oh baby I have changed” speech. Also, they do have pamphlets with ACTUAL statistics. I had one and may actually try to find it and post it on here for you and others to see.
Funny, but those who say women beaters can change, do you feel the same way about child murderers and rapists?
There is ALWAYS a possibilty ONE person may be able to change. It’s the same chance as ONE person winning a lottery, getting struck by lightening and surviving, or marrying a movie star.
Before anyone comes up with the argument against me “Well I am sure you are so perfect” No, I am not, but I am also not a physically violent person, nor do I make excuses for any of the mistakes I have made in my life, so in comparison to Chris Brown, I am pretty damn perfect!
Pathetic!!! I would love to see Adam perform over Chris anyday!!! As far as letting him respond to R’s story…he has gone to trial and been found guilty of assult…what’s to tell…a sob story on how sorry he is…shut up!!!
@babygirl_1111 Are you kidding? She never beat the crap out of him and left him by the side of the road!!! He should be in jail…you need to find someone worthwhile to stand up for!!!
This isn’t about Chris Brown this is about Adam Lambert practically having oral sex on live TV. GMA made their decision now you all should get over it. ADAM F-up now he has to take his punishment like Janet Jackson for her wardrobe malfunction. stop trying to blame Chris Brown…..Adam was an embarrassment the US…You people are beyond stoopidddddd.
@StoopidPeople- WTF are you even talking about? One has nothing at all to do with the other!
Talk about Stoopid!
The subject is Chris Brown and the publics hatred of him, for being a woman beating dirt bag! People don’t want to hear his excuses anymore.
Meh…whatever. In about a year everyone will be over this topic and find someone else they can be “outraged” over.
Chris Brown sucks- I think he’s had all the platforms to tell his side that he “deserves”, and so far he’s taken almost no blame for his actions.
From now on, if he has something to say, his public platform should be twitter. GMA shouldn’t give him an opportunity to respond, and he should be embarrassed to do so. As for performing, I plan on contacting my local affiliate to express my disappointment with GMA for permitting him to actually try and sell albums.
its illegal to beat the crap out of a person. it is NOT illegal to be gay and tacky. that would be my problem with this. the people at GMA ought to be ashamed of themselves for their choices.
So GMA are giving him an opportunity to ‘respond’ are they? Funny, because I thought he’d done done (and pre-emptively I might add) in the six million other interviews he’s done. Seriously the guy has told ‘his side’ many times. It’s not like he’s been gagged and bound in a corner.
Chris deserves to be able to tell his side of the story. the media is only flocking to rihanna’s side because she’s female. there were reports of her kicking his ass for 2 years before the incident back in february and no one cared. I’m not saying what he did is right but there is no way that she is innocent of any wrong doing. even still she only waited to do the interview now for publicity because it coincided with her album release. Also she claimed to have never hit him back during the entire altercation yet the reports stated that he was bitten up and bruised as well, clearly all the facts have not yet been revealed.
Ummm, FIRST Clue? The handle ‘Babygirl…’
Damn well said, Peach.
JaNa’e- He told his side MANY times with his fists.
Not to mention the rounds he made BEFORE she ever went on 20/20.
AGAIN, FOR THE 100TH TIME:It doesn’t matter if she did or didn’t hit him, HE BEAT HER. He didn’t just hit her, HE BEAT THE CRAP OUT OF HER. Decent, thinking men do not beat women. Low life, idiots with an inferiority complex do.
NO EXCUSE FOR WHAT HE DID TO HER!
No one cares to hear his side, as he has been on Larry King, MTV and other shows, doing his best to try and keep his career going with apologies that are as real as Shauna Sands body parts.
He let his fists do the talking months ago, and that is the only way this loser knows how to express himself, well that way and through his s*** music!
Also, might I remind everyone, he also has an album out or coming out. Haha! He can’t even sell tickets to his shows he is such a pathetic loser!
EXCELLENT POST PEACH!
Good for those who defend Chris Brown, you’ve never been abused, you have never cowered in fear when you’ve upset the person you love. Frankly he has not learned a thing, not one piece of information has filtered into that young man’s gray matter that would alter the way he views abuse. He’s a waste of space.
I am so sick of reading comments from people that include the phrase “we don’t know what happened that night,” Yes we do. Read the police report and oh yeah, he plead guilty. He battered a woman and it doesn’t matter if they had fights in the past, on that night he beat her black, blue, and bloody. And, Janae, he had not a scratch on his body when he was taken into custody. Feel free to defend the scumbag all you want, but don’t try to blame the victim. He has given his side of the story to Vibe, Wendy Williams, various radio outlets, and Larry King and he has never expressed a genuine moment of remorse for what he did. And if his GMA appearance was only about giving his side of the story, why does he need to perform? I don’t know who is more pathetic a guy who was caught red handed and still has problems acknowledging what he did or his delusional (mostly female) fans who defend his behavior and tacitly endorse domestic violence.
This is a guy who spent 300K of a bling necklace that said “oops”. He is swine. He has a right to say his peace but that alone told me all I ever need to know about this particular pig.
JaNa’e — “His side”? Any man who beats up on a woman has no side. “Losing it” is NEVER an excuse for a man beating up on a woman. I’d bet a dollar to a donut hole he wouldn’t have the guts to fight a man. Yet he’s “brave” enough to beat up a woman. Do you know how many blows you have to land on someone’s face to mark them up like that? He’s a punk-ass coward. That’s the only “side” he’s got.
It’s enablers like you who allow this to continue. What would you do if it was you who got beat up? Apologize to the guy for upsetting him?
I think you guys are all stupid for coming to the conclusion that any network that gives Chris Brown airtime wants to promote domestic violence.
He got sentenced and he is serving it. Just because you don’t like the way he talks to the press about the incident doesn’t mean he really isn’t sorry. I hate how people assume they know everything about certain situations. Stereotypes are not always true and I think most of you are just as bad for not even giving the young boy a chance.
Chris Brown acts like he has no idea that his beating and choking of Rihanna was wrong. That is why I dislike him so much now. Until he gets a clue, I will not support him in any way. Even if she hit him first, he could have left at any point. Instead, he hurt her as much as he could.
Women beaters can change, but they have to want to change. My father was very abusive to my mother, me and my siblings. He stopped hitting me when I was 22, when I started dating a guy bigger than my dad who didn’t like that I was being abused. Dad eventually got sober and started working on himself, and with that, stopped being physically abusive. He worked longer to stop being emotionally abusive. So yes, they can change, but they have to do the work. Chris Brown doesn’t want to change – he wants fame and money and no consequences for anything that he does.
Jan’ae and Babygirl are pretty sad. People like that explain why CB will still have a thriving career. If Chris had done something considered effeminate or was thought to be gay, he would lose a lot of fans, particularly in the R&B community. But instead he beat up a woman, which makes him a real man in certain people’s eyes for ‘putting her in her place’. Female R&B fans are actually coming out to attack Rihanna, because it’s a ‘no-no’ to involve the police-never mind he left her bleeding on the side of street and someone else called the police! It’s disgusting. The reaction of these people is similar to when the movie about Tina Turner came out–there were people in the theater laughing at the abuse scenes. CB has been doing interviews all over the place all year; Rihanna does one interview and he decides the matter should be private!! What a low life. Even though Jan’ae and Babygirl want to give their own version of abuse, they have clearly internalized it as something that is okay, which is sadly not uncommon as Steve Harvey recently reported.
While I have a lukewarm opinion on Lambert (his “rebellion” would be a lot more meaningful and controversial if he didn’t act like a sororowhore at a frat party), I have very strong feelings for the likes of Brown.
Brown shouldn’t be given the opportunity to “defend” himself. If he doesn’t have the dignity to sequester himself in a hole for the rest of his life – he shouldn’t be encouraged by network tv to “justify” his actions. What he did is absolutely inexcusable, and his interview will only send mixed signals about domestic abuse.
Far more dangerous than exposing children and the elderly to *gasp!* a homosexual.
I completely agree with your write-up, Jay Bird. I can see the network rationale for having a misogynist like Brown booked – but it still an incredibly transparent vie for ratings.
ABC ought to be ashamed.
Good Morning America’s thought process: “Hmm, we want to avoid controversy…let’s allow Chris Brown to perform!” WHAT??
@ layla..steve harvey used to beat his wife. A lot of men in Hollywood have beaten their wives and its sad and wrong. But like I said abuse is a serious situation but no one in here knows Rihanna or Chris Brown. Who knows if he really feels sorry about what he did? No one on this comment board does. These are two young people who should have never gotten together. Chris did something horrible and he is paying for it. I’m glad he didnt get off scott free cause that is sending a wrong message. I know some people in here wish he would have went to jail but he didn’t. There is nothing no one can do about it. So sitting in here arguing about it doesn’t change a thing. I see so many people in here who are so mad about what Chris did. If you are why not do something about it? Join an organization who helps women and men who are in abusive relationships? I bet half of the people in here who arent doing anything except banging on a keyboard. If you are so outraged do something about it! Because sitting in here talking bad about someone you don’t know isn’t helping anyone.
Thanks for your advice Janay, but like you saying none of us knows either of them, you do not know any of us and what we are or are not involved with.
I do not feel that I need to give a list of the charitable causes I am involved with or community activites which I engage in when posting about a subject on a gissip blog. People can comment as well as be active with a cause. I assure you the majority of posters do involve themselves in causes that mean something to them, hence why they are able to speak intelligently about them!
It’s the media (and defense lawyers) that put forth the ‘he just snapped’ argument. Men are in some way, socially perceived to be mentally vulnerable, which is total BS by the way, whereas women are expected to be more reasonable (read: submissive, accommodating, turning a blind eye, etc, etc).
And Caprice: what kind of sentence did he get? His kind of sentence is like a slap on the wrist, if that. Of course networks downplay domestic violence or any violence toward women when they give modern Neanderthals like Chris Brown air time. Putting him on television is like saying he is worthy of promotion, air time, money and status, even though he is a woman beating b*stard.
Let him do the interview It’ll be funny to watch.
He’s using this as career move. Sickening.
I didn’t imply that I did know any of you guys. I was simply stating that if this situation bothers you so much then you should want to do something to help someone who is in a similar situation.
And I get what you are saying that people “some” people in here are speaking intelligent about it but not all. Calling someone a dirt bag or saying Rihanna is dumb for getting back with him and deserves what she gets (which I’ve seen on a few blogs) isn’t intelligent at all.
But Rihanna has moved on and hopefully Chris can become a better person and I wish both of them luck. I cant wish bad things on people I dont know cause that is bad karma…
@ Peach – well said!
Sociopath. My abusive ex once said, when asked what a sociopath was, “Someone who would just as soon kill you as look at you.” THAT is the definition of an abuser. As has been said, there was no Jekyll, only Hyde as his “alter ego.”
Generally, abusers do not change. There’s only 1 that I know of personally, and he quit drinking and turned to the Lord the day after he broke his wife’s arm. He now counsels others and volunteers for Alcoholics for Christ (like a Christian AA).
@ NJ, yes, things are much better now, thank you. I went into hiding & got away from him, am now married to a wonderful man.
Well sorry, but dirt bag is the “cleanest ” description I could give for the likes of him.
Guess I am not intelligent…according to you!
You are choosing to make my words into an insult which we’rent meant to be. And no need to be sorry. If you feel like you want to call him that name then who am I to say that you are wrong for that? The point I was trying to make was clear and out of everything I said, you chose to pick out the one thing that you thought was targeted towards you and automatically took offense to it. I was speaking in general terms and what I saw on other blogs as well as this one. Don’t think you are the only one calling Chris Brown names. (people are calling Rihanna names too)
But I’m not going to go back and forth with you. You have a nice day 🙂
i find it funny that people are defending Tiger’s wife for going off and kicking his ass, yet people are condemning Chris brown for his assault of rihanna. It just goes to show that domestic abuse is only considered to be wrong when the woman is considered the victim; violence of any kind is unacceptable.
Again JaNa’e, no one has defended the woman, and mothing you pont out is going to make what Brown did okay.
Both are wrong, but Brown is much more in the wrong. He BEAT Rihanna, he didn’t just leave a few scratches, HE BEAT HER!
Keep sticking up for Chris, but you are not changing anyone’s minds around here. What he did was wrong and what she is alleged to have done (as we are only hearing rumors at this point) is wrong. We do not know all the facts in this case as we do in the Rihanna case now do we? Have we seen the pictures yet of his face? Has he spoken out about it? Is there a detailed police report about it that we have read? No! And just like with Chris Brown, I will wait to condemn her once all is revealed.
Like I said, I do not approve of anyone hitting or hurting anyone.
Good try CB apologist!
I hate how this society treats people in general because once someone does something wrong people never give them slack for it.
Are you going to keep calling him a woman beating bastard when he’s 80 years old and has never been convicted of any other crimes in his life? Okay, we all know he messed up…it wasn’t up to us to decide his sentence and you have no idea how sorry he is. Just because he is trying to be happy and move on doesn’t mean he cares less about the incident. You don’t see Rihanna boo hooing in public and in every interview over it.
Things happen… people change… people grow… and they move on to better things in life. He deserves that opportunity as much as anyone else.
People change as often as people win the lottery: NOT OFTEN!
Oh firestarter i can see that you have no faith in your species, understandable but you also should know that you can’t predict the future…. it’s quite hilarious, watching you people condemn a person and pass judgement on someone. people do bad things whether you learn from them or not is what determines the person you are. ppl fail to realise that he doesnt need you to acknowledge his apologies and claims as sincere because the ppl on this site most definitely are not in his demographic.
aside : he’s not performing, adam lambert was that’s the difference.
You are quite right, I do not have faith in people.
Also, he obviously DOES CARE about what mainstream America thinks because he wouldn’t care about being on GMA and Larry King if he didn’t. He would have stopped at his riveting interview he gave to Sway on MTV. The court of public opinion DOES matter to him, his handlers and the record company, make no mistake about that.
Well, someone wanted a list of other famous people who got in trouble for assault. In about twenty seconds, I Googled “athletes who beat their girlfriends,” and came up with this list:
– “Stone Cold” Steve Austin – WWE wrestler, assaulted his wife
– Riddick Bowe – pro boxer, arrested twice for assault against two separate women!
– Jim Brown – football player, threatened to kill his wife, vandalized her car
– Kobe Bryant – basketball player, sexual assault
– Sean Burke – hockey player, beat his wife
– Ramon Castro – baseball player, rape
Fresno State college had to implement new “code of conduct” rules after several of their athletes reportedly beat their girlfriends.
-Ramon Castro, a catcher for the Chicago White Sox, pleaded no contest to an allegation of misdemeanor indecent assault after being accused of raping a woman in his Pittsburgh hotel room in 2003.
-Jason Kidd, point guard for Dallas Mavericks, was arrested and pleaded guilty in January 2001 for assaulting his wife.
-Sean Burke, now a goalie for the Jersey Devils, pleaded guilty to beating his wife in February 1998.
-In 1994, Troy Smith, a former basketball player at the University of Louisville, pleaded guilty to one count of involuntary manslaughter in the death of his infant child’s mother, Kelly Dwyer.
-http://bleacherreport.com/articles/98777-pro-athletes-and-domestic-violence
-http://www.kidzworld.com/article/232-athletes-and-violence
I haven’t started to look for celebrities who’ve battered, but I’m guessing it’ll be just as easy.
And from my personal experience, being held at gunpoint by a boyfriend who regularly smacked me around, once an abuser, there’s always the potential for more abuse. My ex bf beat the crap out of his wife, badly enough that it made the local newspapers, four years after I dumped him.
Snowball- Sorry that you too fell prey to an abusive SOB.
People who have not been through it have no idea what an abusive relationship is like. My ex also had a history of abuse, that I only learned about AFTER he started on me. All of his friends and his “cover up” family didn’t bother to fill me in on any of his history. A few of his decent friends said they feared for THEIR own safety had they told me. I asked them “Well why are you friends with him then” No one could ever give me an answer, as they seemed under the same spell I had once been under.
Sure, there are a handful of men and women that do try to change their abusive ways, but the majority don’t and tend to even step up their abuse.
My cousin married a woman beater and stayed for several years in that relationship. Showing up to family functions black and blue. She finally got a divorce and he went on to marry his second wife. Afew years later my cousin was called as a witness in the trial of her ex husband, as he went on to murder his second wife by shooting her in the head.
So yeah, between my experience with abuse personally and seeing what my cousin went through, I do not feel most abusers change nor have faith that they will. Anything is possible, but rarely in most cases do the abusers want to change.
Women are just as capable of violence as men. Watch the show on Oxygen (I think) called Snapped, it tells stories of women who have snapped on their husbands or other women violently. Some with good reason but most not with any reason at all.
I really love the way that people want to jump straight to insults just because I would like to hear what Chris has to say. Not once in my post did I ever say that what he did to her was acceptable or even excusable in any way, shape, or form. Anyone who read my comment carefully would’ve clearly seen that I DO NOT agree with domestic violence, ever. My mother completely lost all hearing in her left ear from the beatings my father gave her when I was a child, and I was there when it happened. I don’t think it is ever ok for anyone to hit anyone else, whether it’s a man beating a woman or a woman slapping a man. There are so many other ways to work out your anger or frustration than to raise your hand to someone. I’m not putting the blame solely on Rihanna, all I’m saying is both of them are pretty messed up. They had no business dating one another because of the toxic relationship they had from the very beginning. Now if you wanna crucify me and call me an idiot for wanting to hear the other side of the story, that’s your perogative and I honestly couldn’t care less.
Thank you Caprice! People make mistakes all the time, I know I’m surely no exception to that. And people change all the time, I find it very hard to believe that anyone on this board can honestly say that they are the still the same person they were at age 19. No one alive is infallible, we all screw up, we learn our lesson, we apologize, and we move on. I can’t speak for anyone else, but I can’t afford to hold grudges against anyone. I just don’t have the time or the energy for it
All ABC cares about is their ratings. Right now, Chris is charting higher on Billboard than Rhianna which means he has a larger fan base for his new cd than she does. Rhianna is only going to sell 162,000 her first week which is colossal failure for her. There is a turn in the tides in the music industry since the public is tired of gimmicks like Rhianna who can’t sing and real singers with no image or looks like Susan Boyle is projected to be #1 and sell 500,000 units. Chris is a more talented singer than Rhianna, I don’t agree with what he did, but he is entitled to make a living.
@ Snowball: You left out Rae Carruth. Remember him? He was the pro football player who put out a contract on his girlfriend and had her killed a few years ago because he didn’t want to have to pay child support on his baby that she was pregnant with. He’s doing life with out parole. They should have given him the death penalty.
The guy will be eating with food stamp’s if were up to me to buy his cd and support him. As a woman beaten by men I know they don’t change. They apologise alot but they don’t change.
the network doesn’t care about chris brown’s domestic violence anymore than they care about adam lambert’s sexuality. they care about the bottom line. http://tinyurl.com/yglpp4x
http://feministguidetohollywood.blogspot.com/2009/11/good-morning-america-hates-gayiness-but.html
I don’t care whether it’s a girl beating a guy, a star beating a ‘nobody’ – I wrote the network and tore them a new one and I’m not watching the show. GMA has lost a viewer forever.
And IF Tiger’s wife beat him (since she hasn’t been charged I’ll reserve judgement) then I hope she’s charged with assault and convicted.
There’s no way I’m going to defend that punk-ass b*tch though. Good on him if he does change but since he isn’t showing an ounce of remorse I’ll slam him all I want. There’s no excuse for beating a person and trying to shove them out of a moving car – EVER.