It was a normal Thursday evening. I was scrolling away on Twitter when I saw Chloe Bailey’s shocking announcement of her new single. The shocking part was not the single, it was the fact that it was featuring Chris Brown. I wasn’t not the only one with a strong opinion, many of the quote tweets from the post shared their frustrations about why and how Chris Brown, a known abuser, was able to get a feature on a popular artist song.
I couldn’t help but wonder, when it comes to Hollywood, when does hurting someone hurt your image?
It took me back to one of the most popular instances of a man in Hollywood not having his image damaged from abuse allegations, Johnny Depp. The actor received public praise and support during his court case with his former partner, Amber Heard, where she documented and shared all the instances that Depp had abused her. Amber Heard has been subject to scrutiny from not only the public, but the industry too as her role in the upcoming Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom had been reduced to less than 10 minutes. The impact on Depp’s image, however, is yet to be seen as he was most recently seen walking the Savage X Fenty fashion show.
Chris Brown’s first allegations of abuse occurred in 2008 when mogul, Rihanna, revealed to the public how the R&B singer had physically assaulted her. Brown was temporarily blacklisted in the industry, however, many albums later he is still able to be thought of as important enough to be added as a featured singer. Chris Brown had taken to his social media platforms to respond to the backlash from Chlöe Bailey’s announcement by sharing an article of other celebrities with abuse allegations, a list that he was included in. Twitter took it to themselves to do some digging and exposed a photo where Chris Brown was seen abusing his ex-girlfriend, Karrueche Tran.
This question stretches to a star who has not received the same public treatment as the previous two mentioned. Brad Pitt’s divorce documents with ex-wife, Angelina Jolie, revealed multiple instances of domestic violence perpetrated by the actor. In my opinion he has not received the same treatment because his image is one that has not had a dent made in it. It was at the Golden Globe Award show, held earlier this year that numerous presenters were starstruck by the actor and gave him a shout out in their speeches. Pitt’s image and career remains untarnished as the actor starred in three films in 2022 alone.
The support that all these men have received led me to wonder why we as a society continue to let these men get away with their abusive actions, the only reasoning I was led to is internalised misogyny. It has been made clear that men in Hollywood, who have power and influence, are able to get away with the most odious of allegations while their female counterparts are torn apart by the media.
The impact of the media was clearly displayed when Amber Heard fell victim to a viral smear campaign, most noticeably on TikTok, one of the biggest social media platforms in the world. The hashtag with her name is on videos with millions of views in support of Johnny Depp. The smear campaign revealed how easily the media can discredit and desensitise the public to a women’s accounts, while preserving the image of male stars.
I realise where you stand, comes from where you sit – whether it is in bed listening to a Chris Brown song or in the theatre watching Brad Pitt in his latest starring role. Support can be withdrawn, just as easy as it can be shown. Hollywood has attempted show their activism through art and music, it has made little effort to address the pervasive and inescapable harm that the patriarchy has caused to women in the industry. It is only us, the audience, that can decide whether or not we are going to support these stars and further benefit success to not only their projects, but their images too.