I initially wanted to resist posting about this topic until more facts were made available, but it turns out that the lack of concrete information is the reason I'm writing this. I knew something was amiss when I was watching the Grammys... I didn't watch the entire thing, but I did see that TI didn't perform "Live Your Life", which is probably the biggest hit from Paper Trail. At any rate, after some digging I found out all about the arrest of Chris Brown, etc. on Sunday night. Today, I'm reading more, and found out that Chris Brown's music is being pulled from radio stations, notably 103.9FM in southern Florida. I think that it's a little unfair, and very hypocritical, for radio stations to pull Chris Brown's music from the radio four days after whatever transpired between he and Rihanna. After all, R. Kelly enjoyed probably the most successful part of his career while facing accusations that he had sex with an 8th grader, urinated on her, and filmed the whole thing. I remember everyone discussing that tape (it was definitely him on the tape) in my Technology Foundations class in 2002. So, people want Chris Brown's music pulled a few days later, but R. Kelly made more money than ever while facing child molestation charges.* A double standard, if you ask me. Halle Berry is deaf in one ear, due to the abuse she faced at the hands of one of her ex-boyfriends. She didn't explicitly state who it was, but it is widely believed that Wesley Snipes is the one responsible. Even after she made this revelation, he didn't exactly have a shortage of work (his tax evasion did that). Jason Kidd, the All-Star point guard, was arrested for domestic abuse after he attacked his wife, and he's WAY bigger than Chris Brown. People weren't exactly outraged at that either; he was still selected to represent the US in international play the following year. I think people just requested that their radio stations take the same route as Wrigley's, and cut him off. Just one thing; Wrigley's has a reputation to uphold, radio does not. It's hard to imagine listening to a rap station and hearing a song, on which no one involved has been arrested for serious criminal activity, from drug charges to assault and murder. Check this video out of Gucci Mane...now he's not exactly seen in a positive light for other reasons, but why shouldn't he be held to the same standard as Chris Brown? For those of you who have seen the video and think, "Well she kind of deserved it; she shouldn't have thrown the glass at him," who is to say that a similar situation didn't happen between Chris and Rihanna? Rick James kidnapped and tortured women on two different occasions, but while he was in prison he still released a greatest hits album, and even now he gets quoted well after that skit was played out. I just feel that, whoever is passing judgment, should probably take a second look at all the facts before lumping Chris Brown into the same group as Drew Peterson.
*For more information about the R. Kelly case, hit the archives for "R. Kelly Speaks" from September.