*The opinions in this piece do not reflect the official stance of Her Campus, Her Campus SFA, or Stephen F. Austin State University*
If you don’t know who Chris Brown is, you may have been living under a rock for the past twelve years. He’s a singer, an actor, a dancer, a clothing designer and so much more. He’s a jack of all trades, so to speak. I’m writing this article because a few weeks ago Chris Brown in conjunction with Netflix released his documentary, Chris Brown: Welcome to My Life. I’d highly recommend any and everyone to watch it because it gives you a look at who Brown really is as a person and not just his mistakes. For the first time, he talks about what happened with Rihanna, his bad choices and habits, and becoming a father. He’s allowing us a look into who he is and I for one liked what I saw. Beneath everything, he’s just like any normal person, he just happens to be living life in the public eye.
Photo: Sa’Maria Boyd
While watching the documentary and seeing all the hate that he receives on the daily via social media, I got angry. Brown gained popularity at the age of sixteen when he released his first single “Run It.” Shortly after, he was this household name and everybody loved him. But something happened along the way and it seems like now it’s taboo to even be a Brown fan. That something was when Brown was arrested for physically assaulting his then girlfriend, Rihanna. And ever since then, he’s been “Public Enemy Number 1.” It seems that now, everything that Brown does is negative to people. He can’t do anything without someone mentioning what he did to Rihanna, or saying negative things like “he’s on crack.”
Photo: Google
Let me make this clear, I do not condone any man putting their hands on a woman, celebrity or not. It is never okay! But I have an issue with the double standard. A man on the street could beat his girlfriend and you’d never know it. He may serve jail time but his reputation is still intact. But because Brown is a celebrity he is ridiculed and crucified for a mistake that he made nearly ten years ago. I wonder how many skeletons are in the closets of everyone passing judgment? Should we dig up your past and post it for the world to see? I am not saying that Brown is this amazing person because I don’t know him personally. And we’ve all been front row to his antics, good and bad, but he’s allowed to make those mistakes because he is as human like you and me.
Regardless of the negative, one thing that cannot be denied is Brown’s talent. The man is a musical genius and an amazing entertainer. I have yet to hear him put out a bad song. Just because you may not like Brown doesn’t mean that it is ok to tear him down or try to discredit him as an artist. Just because he’s a celebrity doesn’t mean that he is not allowed to make mistakes. What Brown did to Rihanna was wrong, but if she was able to forgive him and even date him again, why are people still holding on to something that had absolutely nothing to do with them?
Stop putting celebrities on an unrealistic pedestal and expecting them to be perfect. The reality is, they are real people with real feelings and they make mistakes. News flash, they’re just like us, but they’re living their lives in the public eye. The next time that you’re feeling the need to lash out at a celebrity for their choices, take a step back and ask yourself does this really concern me. The answer will most likely be no. Accept it and move on. They are going to live their lives regardless so you should do the same!