Why Have People Seemingly Forgotten About Chris Brown's Abusive Past?

The R&B musician is on an entirely sold-out UK tour, his first British shows since being denied entry in 2010 for his criminal record - have people forgotten his abusive past?

Trigger warning: this piece mentions topics that some may find upsetting, touching on domestic abuse and sexual assault.

Scrolling TikTok and Twitter this past couple of weeks, my feeds have become flooded with videos of ‘What To Wear To See Chris Brown’, vlogs of Chris Brown shows and women being bought on stage at Chris Brown shows - a flood of people seeming to have forgotten about his abusive past. For those not in the know, and a reminder for those who have forgotten, Chris Brown was arrested 14 years ago - when he physically assaulted his then-girlfriend Rihanna after a pre-GRAMMYs event, Brown, 19 at the time, pleaded guilty and accepted the deal of 1,400 hours of community service, alongside five years of probation and domestic violence counselling. Since then, Chris Brown has been involved in many other controversies - including violence, misogyny and alleged sexual assault.

The ‘Under The Influence’ tour sees Chris Brown return to the UK for his first British shows in 13 years, with 12 sold-out shows, and 6 shows taking place at the O2 Arena in London. Over those 6 O2 Arena shows alone, Brown will have over 120,000 people in attendance, and though it may come as a surprise because of his attitude towards women over the years - he has managed to maintain a ravenous, loyal fanbase. But why? With all of the allegations and confirmed charges, why does Chris Brown still have a following?

The answer largely lies in the growth of social media. When Chris Brown was arrested, and charged, with the assault on Rihanna, social media was nowhere near as engrained in society as it is today - which gives newer fans a sense of separation from the case. Many fans of ‘cancelled’ artists will claim that they ‘separate the art from the artist’ - which perhaps seems viable for the likes of known misogynists like Aristotle, but Chris Brown is no Aristotle. This level of ‘stan culture’ finds itself a loving home on social media, where fans find it accessible to develop a level of intimacy with their favourite celebrities - as social media blurs the line between real-life relationships, and parasocial relationships, which leads fans to be unable to hold their idols accountable for their problematic behaviour.

It is hard to believe this, but Chris Brown finds himself still profitable, much like Dr. Luke (who was sued by Kesha for assault in October 2014) - who has managed to make a comeback in the world of producing without major backlash, and R Kelly - who only got dropped by his record label in the last 4 years, after nobody in the industry would continue to work with him.

Internalised misogyny also feeds Chris Brown’s career, as being a tough, talented musician with an army of female fans can make an undoubted difference. Young women who position themselves as fans of Chris Brown, or members of the ‘Team Breezy’ community, are products of a society that trains women to believe that violence is normal and should be expected from someone ‘more powerful’ and as ‘financially attractive’ as Chris Brown is.

Many also take Rihanna’s forgiveness of Chris Brown as a reason to forgive him, in an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2010, on her show ‘Oprah’s Next Chapter’, Rihanna stated that she ‘forgave him’ because she ‘still cared about him’. By forgiving Brown, Rihanna was able to start over - despite how traumatic the ordeal may have been. As Rihanna continued to date him on-off for a while after, many find themselves feeling that it was ‘okay’ for them to forgive and forget also - disregarding that she was actually stuck in a cycle of abuse, and also that Rihanna is not the only one who has bravely come out and spoke about their experiences with Chris Brown.

Chris Brown’s continued successes also stem from the music industry’s lack of a #MeToo movement, which may possibly be fuelled by the number of powerful economic incentives that protect those at the very top. Despite Brown’s criminal record, he has never been dropped from his record label, he has been nominated for multiple GRAMMY awards (even winning one in 2012) and has even collaborated with female artists like Nicki Minaj, and, most recently, Chloe Bailey, once more reinforcing the idea that the success of women in music is dependent on them collaborating with established male musicians in order to make the charts.

There continues to not be a reason for people to support Chris Brown, and nothing feels more disheartening than seeing celebrities who are alleged advocates of women’s rights, coming out to support Chris Brown (I’m looking at you, Kelly Rowland). The music industry must do more to protect female victims, and it must do more to prevent men with assault accusations from reappearing as if nothing ever happened.

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