Dear Chris Brown,
I was a fan. And I mean a huge fan. I had your posters hanging above my bed. I still have your first few albums, in hard copy. Embarrassingly enough, I even used to scribble your name in my notebooks (we all did).
But you’ve changed. I get it, we grow up – and thankfully we are not the same people we were in 2005. I’m not sure when I started to take notice either, but now I’m fed up.
There is no denying that you’re one of the biggest artists of our time. With seven studio recorded albums, a clothing line and more, you’ve been pretty successful and I can’t knock you for that.
But your violence towards women has become increasingly problematic and it isn’t new, either. We remember the infamous Rihanna incident in 2009. Some of us gave you a pass and continued to support – I was one of those people.
Time passed, you said and did some more things that led me to become less and less of a fan.
More recently, you made some comments about Kehlani, the up and coming female R&B vocalist who was nominated for a Grammy based off of a mix-tape, that made me lose all hope in you.
If you’re unfamiliar with what happened, let me catch you up to speed:
Kehlani was caught up in some boy drama. She had previously dated another artist – Party Next Door, who is signed to Drake’s OVO label – and they eventually broke up. Things happen.
After the break-up, Kehlani started dating Kyrie Irving of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Like we all do, they posted their relationship on social media but with the addition of celebrity spotlight, the relationship had been under a tighter scope.
Unfortunately, Party decided to post a picture of him and Kehlani in bed together, during a time that appeared as if she was still with Kyrie – this wasn’t the case, but she was attacked via social media and blog sites for being a cheater.
Kehlani has been vocal about her anxiety and depression before – and though I can’t verify whether or not this was a result of the drama, Kehlani attempted suicide following the incident.
Courageously, she took to Instagram to post a picture of her in the hospital to explain to her fans what happened.
So you decided to comment, Chris. And that’s okay – your opinion is yours and you have the right to vocalize it – but the things you said made me cringe.
You made light of an issue that takes the lives of over 38,000 Americans every year and pretty much called it a joke (CDC).
Now this is where I draw the line.
You are an icon. Do you know how many of your fans have fallen victim to attempted suicide? Do you know how many of your fans lost loved ones to suicide?
You are idolized. Do you know how many of your supporters went back to her page to say even more hurtful things?
And lastly, you have a daughter. How would you feel if she grew to have someone say something as disgusting as that to her?
As someone who respects your influence and your craft, I’m extremely disappointed in you – you may never care, but I think it’s important to say.
We are so conditioned to take whatever celebrities say with a grain of salt, no matter how problematic it may be. But why is that okay?
This is me – taking the time to say that I won’t stand for it anymore. Not just with you, but with everyone who holds the same significance as you.
I’m worried by how easily we excuse violent behavior by some celebrities just because of their positions.
I’m afraid that we too will start to justify some of the negative things done to us because “Chris Brown said it and it wasn’t a big deal.” That scares me.
I know you aren’t perfect, and neither am I. And unfortunately enough, no matter how much you disappoint me, I still know all of the words to your latest hits.
Of course this says more about the bigger picture – about what society and the media has conditioned us to think. But for now, we can take this one step at a time.
Yours truly,
Ellanjé Ferguson