Charlie/Brown

Any negative treatment of a person of color is worth examining for racism. Ignore history if you like, but without perpetuating itself, the status quo would not exist. Regarding it warily, and giving minorities the benefit of the doubt represents the bare minimum of human decency.

And so, it's reasonable to momentarily wonder if Chris Brown's lingering reputation as a not-so-nice guy has anything to do with the fact that he's also a black guy. If his Rihanna-bashing were an isolated incident in an otherwise spotless track record then, it might be easier to make that case. But what I said about Brown a year and a half ago holds true: he's a hard person to like. This is based entirely on his behavior -- at this point, the only color the guy could be to improve his public profile is invisible. His charmlessness spans his earliest public address of the assault, in which he seemed more focused on how it might impact his career than in expressing accountability, to a recent one when he referred to it as a "mishap" (like the kind explained away with a chain that says, "Oops!"?). In between, there's been whining about a judge's orders to stay away from Rihanna and the possibility of him becoming, gulp, a "mixtape artist." There was an incident in which he mocked Raz B's alleged sexual abuse on Twitter by calling him a "dick in da booty ass lil boy," and then, when his fans took exception, he offered, "I'm not homophobic! He's just disrespectful!!!" Bigotry, after all, is about entitlement.

People have pointed out that the public seems to be picking favorites in our pool of celebrity women-beaters -- Charlie Sheen is the go-to guy for illustrating the perceived racial underpinnings in anti-Brown sentiment. In Anna Holmes' great New York Times op-ed, "The Disposable Woman" (which I otherwise agree with), she wrote, "The privilege afforded wealthy white men like Charlie Sheen may not be a particularly new point, but it’s an important one nonetheless. Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears are endlessly derided for their extracurricular meltdowns and lack of professionalism on set; the R&B star Chris Brown was made a veritable pariah after beating up his equally, if not more, famous girlfriend, the singer Rihanna. Their careers have all suffered, and understandably so." Perhaps a Times reader himself, Brown echoed the sentiment today, when after his window-smashing tantrum at Good Morning America, he tweeted: "I'm so over people bringing this past shit up!!! Yet we praise Charlie sheen and other celebs for there bullshit." If you read this as a plea for fairness, Brown's words sound like those of a child who can't wrap his head around the fact that not everyone wants to celebrate his feces like his mommy does.

The thing is that very few are praising Charlie Sheen for his "bullshit" (which I assume refers to his extensive history of abuse). As Holmes point out, what people have actually done is overlook it. A big reason for that is that Sheen has made it easy to overlook. His performance art is fascinating in itself. Sheen's media-mastery is savant-like and his way with words is diabolical. Chris Brown, a professional writer if you believe his albums' credits, would be lucky in his entire career to stumble once on something as absurdly clever as the shit that just rolls off Sheen's tongue (unlike Sheen, I get the feeling that Brown's boogers and brain are the same age). And that is to say nothing of the fact that the women who Sheen has been accused of brutalizing are not nearly as publicly beloved as Rihanna. Everyone deserves to live a life free of abuse equally, but the fact of the matter is that if you hurt a superstar, you can expect super-sized backlash.

Not that super-sized backlash is what Brown has received. Yes, his sales took a slight, momentary hit. Yes, he has his detractors, but he also has a legion of loyal fans who unleash questionable grammar and vague Biblical references the minute anyone intimates Brown's feces are less than praiseworthy. In the past year, he's had three Top 20 hits on the Billboard 100, and three Top 5 hits on Billboard's R&B chart (including the No. 1 "Deuces"). It would not be surprising if he sold out a tour the size of Sheen's upcoming one (after all, Sheen isn't filling stadiums but theaters). Given the consistent mediocrity of Brown's output and thinness of his voice, the guy is doing fine. His job provides him with an obscene amount of money and the ability to do what he says he loves on a national stage. His work in his other medium of choice, the outburst, regularly gets national coverage, too. If attention is the bottom line or at least close to it, being praised for his bullshit is exactly what Brown is experiencing. If that isn't winning, I don't know what is.

Comments

[claire]

Really good take on all this. I was reading a lot of similar things on ONTD today (although much less well articulated and with many more gifs) and I have to agree. He's just SO overly entitled and shows absolutely no regret.

[Amanda6]

This is potentially one of my favorite articles you've ever written. Good stuff, Rich. Thanks.

[wannabeontop]

I was waiting for you to comment on this morning's outburst. You know what I found most interesting about the original Chris Brown mess? The only male, hip-hop industry giant who publicly came out and made a statement against Chris Brown was Jay Z. Maybe there were some others, but I KNOW Jay Z was not only vocal about Chris Brown, he also made sure that behind the scenes he encountered major set backs as to who he could work with in the studio and there's the whole BET Awards thing.

Shortly after the incident, I started to hear more and more male rappers, R%B singers, etc. come out in support of Chris Brown. But in their statements they never said "he's a changed man, he learned from his mistake, he's working on it" and so on. Instead they were like, hey, it happens to everyone. Can't Chris lead an abusive life towards women in peace?!?!

[Marty]

I was waiting to see if we do, in fact, hate Chris because he is black. I don't think you ever really answered that...

[warren]

testify!

[Lauren]

agreed.

on a different note, does anyone find it a bit ironic (and perhaps inappropriate) that rhianna has a song out and on her latest album all about how she enjoys S&M? i mean seeing as she was beaten up by chris brown, it just seems like a ridiculous song choice for her.

[Vanessa]

I was just thinking about this the other day. I find it really bizarre who we are willing to give a second chance and who we are not. One ofthe people I find so odd in this respect is Boy George. He chained a prostitute to a radiator and beat him with a chain, did the time, and now is on tv, working again, no-one shamed him publicly, he didn't even express any remorse for it. The day he was released London's biggest paper ran a story on how he'd lost weight in jail - like that was the only thing they could talk about.
It's true when the person you're abusing is someone of a lower status than you (a sex worker/wannabe starlet/B-list actress) it seems that the public don't give a crap, but if it's someone they too independently love then they're likely to throw up their arms in despair then slowly crawl back to you.
Sad isn't it?

[maja papaya]

I just wanted to say that this is hysterical:

"at this point, the only color the guy could be to improve his public profile is invisible."

[moe]

I really hate this cultural meme that Rihanna's choice of S&M as a single is ironic or weird. Consensual pain during sex (giving or receiving) is not at all in the same category as violence against women. I'm not sure why that would be ironic or funny or whatever.

[Mara]

PREACH!!!! this kid will NEVER learn...

i couldn't even read the ignorant ass comments that his stans/supporters said in his defense...brown nor sheen should get away with their behavior, period. i actually think that brown may become a "charlie sheen" in the not so distant future, except he may actually do some jail time eventually, cuz you know, he's black.

[Alyssa]

This morning GMA announced that they will not be pressing charges with the NYPD against Chris Brown. Bet this is one case in which he is happy to be invisible.

[DC-Matt]

Great piece, Rich! I think you hit the nail on the head here: "... the women who Sheen has been accused of brutalizing are not nearly as publicly beloved as Rihanna."

In this world of celebrity, we take sides just like in High School. The Rihanna fans hate Chris Brown and the Brown fans take his side and forgive him.

[Lee]

wow. excellent piece. i feel the same way about the situation (except my version had "they're both fucking idiots and media whores" in it).

[Norma]

And this is why I just can't quit you, Rich. Wonderfully written.

[Dee]

Awesome post, Rich. I'm one of Chris Brown's crazy fans but I agreed with most of what you wrote. Love your blog!

[Lady Shasha]

@ DC-Matt Charlie was not just "accused" he has been convicted twice. He has shot a woman, and held another with a knife to her throat. He has a well established track record. I agree with Lee, "they're both fucking idiots and media whores."

They should be forced to live together in a Big Brother/Real World style house with Mel Gibson and be filmed. This will kill 2 birds with 1 stone. They get to be on TV and feed their whoredom and we get to watch them destroy each other. The media is just giving them both enough rope to hang themselves with and pretending to be "concerned", when they really are just waiting for them to crash and burn (or OD in Charlie's case.)

[vibram five fingers]

Maybe there were some others, but I KNOW Jay Z was not only vocal about Chris Brown,

[Shortspark]

Interesting thoughts...still can't help to see race in this. Think about all the attention to Naomi Campbell's attack on her housekeeper with her cell phone. Did anyone even blink an eye when Demi Lovato attacked her dancer. Demi went away for a bit, and when she returned, the whole issue had disappeared. I don't recall her ever admitting what she did or publicly apologizing for it. I guess the rule is, don't hit anyone...unless you're rich, white, famous...did I mention white??

[Ultra Berry Blast]

He looks in a mood of fun.....

[best stretch mark creams]

Some people really never learn from their mistakes...too bad!