June 29, 2009

Should Chris Brown have performed at the BET Awards?

That’s the tricky question. If you follow me on Twitter, you knew my take — wasn’t judging, but I wouldn’t have complained if people threw shit at him.

But then again, if you did that you’d have to throw shit at Don Cornelius, too, seeing how he’s the pot to Brown’s kettle.

Word is that Jay-Z strongarmed Brown off the bill. Must be nice to have it like that, I guess. But let’s stop and think, shall we?

Who knows…maybe Don didn’t beat his wife the way Brown beat Rihanna. Maybe his wife wasn’t as pretty as Rihanna. Or maybe no one with juice involved with the show could pull Cornelius off the bill like Jigga did with Brown.

I’ve had many problems with the public reception Brown has received, both on his side and in opposition. But the more I think about it, the more I realize what gets me…

The real reason people seem to be mad about how he beat Rihanna is that they think she’s too pretty to hit. As if, once it gets to the point that someone’s throwing punches…and biting, appearance matters. He beat her up because he’s got serious, serious problems. But had he beat…oh, I dunno, Cicely Tyson, I bet buddy would have been on stage moonwalkin’ it up.

I’m inclined to believe Don Cornelius is also troubled. But there he was last night, talking all slow, ignoring the schedule, bringing the show to a crawl.

Nobody threw a thing at him. And, unlike Brown, Cornelius hasn’t served a lick of time, as far as I can tell on Google.

So should Brown have performed? Maybe not, seeing how that would be a bigger story than Michael Jackson, the man to whom tribute was to be paid. But around 24 hours after the awards, who’s talking about Michael Jackson? We’re talking about how dreadful the production was. That isn’t much better.

I don’t think the lil fella should get a round of applause. But the law has spoken, and it has issued its sentence. We don’t get to punish him further.

If Jay-Z’s problem isn’t that Chris Brown beat a woman, but rather a woman that he’s close to, then he’s not getting any props from me. He stepped to the plate, and he hit a hypocritical home run.

Let’s not act like people are acting on principle with Brown. They’re not. They’re mad, and they’re appalled by what they saw and read, and that has a lot to do with what his victim looked like.

But, for the most part, they are not noble. Were I Brown, I’d be irate. I’d also shut up and take it, because I had little room to complain. That said, I guarantee you he saw what I saw, and it looked funny.

Hope Jay-Z and others are happy with themselves.

Actually, I don’t.

7 Comments »

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1. Would MJ have wanted Brown to perform – who knows? Did the family want him to perform – I bet no one asked. If they did, I think that would have trumped Jay-Z’s request.

   Also, has it really been confirmed that Jay-Z was the reason? I saw one twit that it was Cover Girl – although I didn’t see many Cover Girl commercials…but then again, I only watched about 15 minutes of the entire thing

   Comment by Tazzee — June 29, 2009 #

2. I seriously wonder if Jay Z really even cared. I heard months ago that all the rumors about them were generated by Rihanna’s publicist to generate press.

   What if the rumor about Jay Z was created to cover the fact that BET didn’t really invite Chris because they didn’t want the drama. Just a thought.

   I think the BET Awards would have been the wrong place for him to make his “comeback”. He doesn’t even have a single out right now.

   Either way, he dodged a bullet. Last night was no showcase.

   Comment by Chelle — June 29, 2009 #

3. Okay did all common sense go out the window here? I personally could care less about Rhianna’s looks. It is short-sighted to infer the only reason people care about her being assaulted is she’s light-skinned.

   No woman should be beaten, ever period. The reason people care about Rhianna is because she IS a successful, popular singing star, in case you forgot.
   I detest any abuse, but I have no clue who Don’s partner/wife/significant other is. Further more, if I recall, his victim was white, so your theory doesn’t hold water.

   If poor wittle Chrissy didn’t get to sing because big bad Jay said no, well too damn bad. Maybe next time he’ll think before he decides to tee off on a woman. The last thing the world needs is another narcissistic superstar with no consequences for their behavior.

   Comment by Kristalogy — June 29, 2009 #

4. sounds like someone heard what she wanted and not what i’m actually trying to say. fall back.

   Comment by Bomani — June 29, 2009 #

5. I could’ve done without Don on Sunday… I would’ve preferred to have Chris there than Don… why did they even bother to dig him up anyway? okay, whatever…

   But you are right, people are upset by the fact that Chris Brown’s vitcim was poor sweet lil’ Rihanna! Hell, I was too! But as for him not perfoming I just don’t think that the BET awards show was the platform he needed to began the process of the reinvention of Chris Brown…

   And Jay-Z…(I’m so not a fan) yeah I heard that mess too! I believe it to be more likely that Cover-Girl bullied them than Jay-Z, if it even went down like that.
   @Tazzee, Cover-Girl was one of the show’s sponsors and they hosted to the post-show wrap-up with Queen Latifah and Jamie Foxx…
   I believe that they had more power over Chris being there or not being there than Jay,
   but that’s just me…

   Comment by Lil' Tiff — June 30, 2009 #

6. Rihanna’s looks are morally relevant. Hitting her is like defacing a national treasure, whereas hitting someone like Courtney Love would be more of a public service.

   Joan’s statement that “the law has spoken” and that “we don’t get to punish him further” is asinine. The law is not the sole arbiter of moral justice, in fact, the law is not an arbiter of justice at all. The law seeks only to impose order, in many cases by pre-empting justice. A society can only attain harmony if in it there are thugs, outside of the law, willing to take things “personal”. Lets break that down…the root word of personal is person, a person is a human being. To take it personal is to be human. To be human is to be a member of humanity, to practice humanity is to be humane. Being humane is the base premise of all commonly accepted morality. There is no morality unless people are willing to make things personal. Brown should be heckled into the fetal position, speckled in poo by fecal derision.

   Comment by No — July 4, 2009 #

7. I am glad someone brought up Don Cornelius, and the looks issue. I find it interesting that some many people lambasted Brown, but not Jim Brown or James Brown. I may not have lived during their hay day, but I’ve read enough to understand that the looks and success factor as far as abuse is concerned have been around a while. Thanks for saying something, even if folks don’t want to accept what’s right in their face.

   Comment by Queen City E — July 9, 2009 #

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