Chris Brown: Fans Speak the Truth

The April 6th appearance of Chris Brown in a Los Angeles courtroom to enter a plea provided us with a rare moment of hearing the truth--not from him, but from the mouths of the singers' fans. Brown pleaded not guilty to two felony charges of assault and making criminal threats. Well, anyone with two eyes who saw the leaked photo of Rihanna after the "alleged incident" knows better.

Those who have read the graphic details in a search warrant affidavit filed by the Los Angeles Police Department know it was a violent attack, with a victim and a perpetrator. The account describes Brown punching, choking and biting Rihanna while she tried to block Chris' blows with her legs and arms.

It was totally refreshing to read the comments from the performer's peers who basically said: the emperor has no clothes on. The bare truth has been visible, and they're wondering why Brown doesn't simply admit the truth. "I think he should [plead guilty]," Brandi Crosmer told MTV News. "You should take responsibility for your actions."

Chris has chosen to say "not guilty" to buy more time to work out a plea bargain. If he is convicted as charged, he's up for a maximum of five years in prison. Also, with a felony on his record, his passport and right to travel could be impacted and might prevent him from putting on concerts internationally. So even though teenagers get the moral concept of admitting that you've messed up and making amends, the legal shenanigans continue. There's a lot of gamesmanship involved in plea bargaining, as both high-priced lawyers and their clients continue to negotiate.

Behind all the posturing and posing of both Chris and Rihanna--yes she will/no she won't testify, yes he's sorry/no it's her fault--are some basic economic realities. This whole "incident" is giving them both a lot of bad press and will undoubtedly hurt their wallets as fans back off from supporting them. So Rihanna, who has been pressured to be a role model and stand up for victims of domestic violence, is reluctant to testify. What "cover girl" wants her name linked to the dirty secret of domestic violence? What had she done to "provoke" the beating she received from Chris? What dirty laundry would be aired? Rihanna wants it all to go away as quickly as he does.

Rihanna's lawyer, Donald Etra, showed up in court to say Rihanna sees no need for the restrictive restraining order that bans Brown from any contact with her. He also said Rihanna was willing to testify against Brown, but hoped that a deal would be reached before trial so "she can get back to her life and her career. She would be pleased if this is over quickly." No doubt.

Now they have till April 29th (when the court will set a date for a preliminary hearing) to keep working behind the scenes to come up with a palatable solution for both singers--one that will satisfy enough of their fans to keep them viable in the marketplace while seeming to satisfy the law as well. Many of those in their age group watching the case feel strongly that Brown should serve some time for what he did. They're quite sure that just because he's famous, he shouldn't get away with it. They wonder why he won't "man up" to what he did.

One young fan, Athena Reich, was quoted by MTV as saying: "It would be better if he could just be honest. My gut reaction is that it's kind of sad that people can't be honest." Point well taken.

Comments

[phd1]

Youth does not explain away such actions and I do hope that they both receive the assistance they need to go on with their lives. However, I also hope that we do not send a permissive picture to an ever escalating juvenile population prone to copy celebrity actions by turning a blind eye to this.

[phd1]

Taija,

I do understand your arguments, but you seem to argue against yourself. You state that we do not know what happened, but then use reports of an altercation between Rihanna and her brothers to support your position. Do you know what happened between she and her brothers? I do remember reading something about her altercation with her sibling..if that did occur, the difference is that this is a police matter and that was not. I am not an advocate for using anecdotal evidence so I simply stick to the physical evidence which will be introduced in this case. There is no reported physical evidence of any physical injury to him, only to her. There is no counter-claim or police report filed against her by Mr. Brown, only that filed by Rihanna against him. There is photographic evidence of physical injuries including but not limited to facial injuries, bite marks, blood on her person and clothing, blood in the car, and a memorialized report of physical threats.

I will again state that NO ONE deserves to be beaten. Nothing she said or did short of inflicting commiserate physical injury on him which is highly doubtful (without some sort of physical weapon which was neither reported or found) considering the height, weight and strength differential. Perhaps she did say or do something to upset him, should that result in what occurred?

[Taija]

Now im not agreeing and saying what he did was right no thats not the case, because thats just sometime im strongly against!!! of course I saw the picture and everything but if that is what she looked like then why when the picture came out and the picture of her traveling she looked perfectly fine.??? her parent havent seen any marks... and honestly what does a 6'3 about 200 pounds look like biting a female if she can smash glass in her own brothers face do u think she wouldnt fight back if that was the case. And if he was to beat her why would he bite her again biting is a defence move like if your pint down want to get away but cant... you do that in order to either get the person off you and get away.... If her bite marks where in several areas really do you think she was just sitting there i think not!!! see theres alot of stuff people dont say or bother to think about... but I do If he did do the crime just like anyone else he should do the time... we are all equal but how can we all say and judge but something we dont know??

[phd1]

(phd1 cont.)...

He beat her. That is what the evidence shows.

I too hope this goes to trial. There is a great deal unknown. For example, domestic violence is an escalating crime. I would be interested to know how many times in the past he has hit her. I would be interested to know whom else has gotten the worst of it, as you say, THIS time.

I would be interested to know how many more women will need to beaten to a pulp or killed by their spouses or boyfriends before people wake up.

[phd1]

Unfortunately, elmo97, the physical evidence including but not limited to, the photos showing her face black and blue, the blood lifted from the vehicle typed to her, the bloody gown she was wearing (as they were on their way to an awards ceremony) points to exactly what you refuse to acknowledge: "he hauled off and used her face as a punching bag". What is most upsetting about the comments posted here is that many perpetuate the notion that women are responsible for the violence inflicted upon them. NOTHING, NOTHING she could have said or done is provocation for physical abuse.

How is she guilty exactly: By "running all over the country doing weird things not saying a word acting like a victim"? SHE IS A VICTIM. You point to some spurious claim of her "going crazy on him in the car". On what is this claim based? Nothing but your attempts to exonerate him from a heinous act.

This type of episode is incredibly upsetting because men have, throughout their history, taken these liberties with women and only recently have they been held accountable. The law takes into account proportionality. Such that if she had been "going crazy" on him and hit him, he would be allowed to respond with proportional force. Where are his injuries? His bruises? His blood splatter in the car or on his clothes?

continued....

[elmo97]

continued.....Yes I saw the picture and that could mean a lot of things. To me it does not mean that he just hauled off and decided to use her face as his punching bag. To me it means that they got into a fight and she may have gotten the worst of it THIS time. So if he feels he is not guilty as far as threatening to kill her then he said he was not guilty. I dont think he means he is not guilty to having touched her but just to what they are accusing him of based of what she told the cops in her heightened emotional angry state. I wish those negative commentors would stop being so simple minded and really think about the situation before commenting. You know that if you were in his shoes you would be saying 'not guilty' as well so stop lying to yourself. I will be glad when he can talk so that i can hear some more good music from him and he can continue to give of his talent that he was destined to do and her too.

[elmo97]

I personally think this should go to trial. Reason being is that the whole truth needs to come out so that EVERYBODY is this country can move forward and stop blaming just one person in this whole ordeal. I say they BOTH are guilty. People want to say well it doesnt matter who started it first, a man should not hit a woman. What makes people think it is ok for a woman to touch a man and he has no right to defend himself? That is the misconception people have. No one has the right to touch anybody man or woman. I think it needs to come out what part Rihanna played in this as well. She has been running all over the country doing weird things and not saying a word and acting as if she is a total victim in this. Of course she wants it to be over with and settle outside of a trial but why is that? People wake up, its because there is more to the story. They both need to take responsibility for their role that night. I personally believe that she went crazy on him in the car while he was driving and he had to fight her off of him to keep the car from crashing.

[honeydiva]

This is why I haven't been to this biased site in ages, you don't know a dang thing you're talking about.

[tmjqueen]

If the regular person off the street had the means to avoid jail time for a crime because of access to good lawyers, I'm sure they would try to avoid jail time too. For the sake of his personal healing and redemption of his career, Chris Brown will need to come clean to the public about his role in the situation. I would prefer for the judge to make batterer intervention counseling mandatory more than anything else because someone going to jail for a crime doesn't always change their attitude even after they serve jail time. However to satisfy some members of the public Chris Brown will need to spend some time in jail but it will be some days rather than years if they reach a plea deal.

I hope both of Chris Brown and Rihanna get on the road of real healing because they both deserve to have a life and career. I don't think tons of 19 and 21 years old always make the best decisions, such as drunk driving and killing someone in the process. No matter what, it is a parent's responsibility to make sure he/she are role models rather than some entertainer that your child will never live with nor know in-depth.

[cisco1]

What a waste of time and tax payers money to go thru all this legal process. These two people know the truth about their situation and that won't change. They should just end it with the truthful statements - people would respect them a lot more.

[Asereht Senoj]

Finally a fair and balanced report on this story. The truth needs to be known. There is no excuse for violence what so ever and that means violence of men towards woman and woman towards men. We are all human respect is the key just get away from it. I once heard someone say "The truth is something that wants to be known". We everything that has been going on we need to know the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth . So help us God.

[hotone]

Yes, wouldn't it be wonderful if people told the truth! But legal maneuvering for the best deal seems to be where it's at these days. I certainly hope the truth does come out, so all those young people who watch their idols' lives closely will learn what really happened and can stop the blame and shame game that's going on all over the web in their comments on stories. These youngsters deserve to know whether or not their clean-cut singer Brown really should be going to jail, or whether or not anything Rihanna may have done deserved the reaction she got from Brown. I like the way you're keeping your eye on the whole situation.