I know Chris Brown's attack on Rihanna back in 2009 was 3 years ago now, but I still feel like it's worth writing about and is appropriate to talk about in this course. For me, this is because Rihanna does not seem to take what happened to her as serious as she should. And I cannot understand how or why Chris Brown even has a career today. I can understand Rihanna wanting to move on with her life and not wanting the vicious attack to change who she is, but what doesn't make sense is why she has just recently recorded TWO songs with him, speaks about him with praise, and worst of all, is rumored to be dating him once again. Below are two statements, from 2011-2012, by Rihanna regarding Chris:
"It's incredible to see how he pulled out of it the way he did. Even when the world seemed like it was against him, you know? I really like the music he's putting out. I'm a fan of his stuff. I've always been a fan. Obviously, I had some resentment toward him for a while, for obvious reasons. But I've put that behind me. It was taking up too much of my time. It was too much anger. I'm really excited to see the breakthrough he's had in his career. I would never wish anything horrible for him. Never. I never have."
"I reached out to him about doing 'Birthday Cake' because that's the only person that really - it made sense to do the record. Just as a musician - despite everything else - that was going to be the person. You know I thought about rappers, and I've done that so many times, and the hottest R&B artist out right now is Chris Brown. So I wanted him on the track, and then in turn he was like 'Why don't you do the remix to my track?' and it was a trade off. We did two records. One for my fans. One for his fans, and that way our fans can come together. There shouldn't be a divide. You know? It's music, and it's innocent."
What happened to Rihanna is a serious problem and it's almost like since she never made a big deal about what happened to her, Chris has been forgiven. However, I think it is only a matter of time before he does this again. Most recently, Chris and singer Drake (rumored to have also dated Rihanna) came under fire for a serious altercation in a bar. Glass bottles were thrown and words were exchanged. Some of the injuries were very brutal. It was said that Chris and Drake were not the ones who started the fight, it was their entourage, but even so the connection between the two men is obvious and so is the reason for the fight.
Country singer, Miranda Lambert, has not been shy about voicing her opinions of Chris Brown. Before singing her hit, Gunpowder and Lead, in concert Miranda took the opportunity to let Chris know the song was for him,
"I just have to speak my mind, because where I come from, beating up on a woman is never OK. So that's why my daddy taught me early on in life how to use a shotgun,"
"Chris Brown twice? I don't get it. He beat on a girl...Not cool that we act like that didn't happen. He needs to listen to "Gunpowder and Lead" and be put back in his place. Not at the Grammys,"
I give Miranda a lot of credit for speaking up for Rihanna and battered women every where, but why could Rihanna never do this for herself, or her fans who look up to her? I will never change how I feel about Chris Brown, but my feelings about Rihanna have also changed. Domestic violence is not something to ever be silent about. Put your fame and horrible ordeal to good use, Rihanna! Chris should never be allowed to hurt anyone ever again.
From this...
To This...?
Domestic violence is such a touchy subject. Unfortunately for both Rihanna and Chris Brown, their relationship and the aftermath (or lack thereof, in Chris Brown's case) played out for the whole world to see. I am afraid that when we ask "why" did Rihanna do this or "why" did she not do that, we are putting blame on the victim. I have thought the same thing myself, but in the end, the Rihanna was/is under the same emotional and mental stress that any victim of domestic violence would experience. To me, the larger question that looms over this situation is what does it say about our society that Chris Brown still sells records and performs at the Grammy's, that he has the freedom to do so, and to portray himself as the victim of bad publicity, while Rihanna receives scorn in the aftermath of this traumatic event?
ReplyDeleteI recently saw an Oprah Winfrey interview with Rihanna. This abuse theat she endured with Chris Brown was brought up. Rihanna acknowledged the abuse but did say that she felt like everyone was against him after the incident and she felt bad because she felt instead of people turning against him he needed help. I do not condone any sort of abuse but in a way I understand the way Rihanna speaks of Chris Brown. I was in an abusive relationship and as strong as I thought I could be or would never tolerate that, I did. Love was blinding and it is a sick sick cycle. Rihanna mentioned in her interview that the night Chris attacked her, in an instant she lost the love of her life and the person that she spoke to a million times in a day and spent every chance she could with. Again, this should not be forgotten or forgiven but I can see a young girl finding it hard to let go of her abuser. This happens every single day to normal girls and the difference was Rihanna lived her tragedy out in the spotlight for all to see. The perfect hip hop couple gone wrong.
ReplyDelete