February 7, 2009 is the day many will remember because of the tragic display of assault R&B artist Chris Brown inflicted on his then girlfriend, singing sensation Rihanna. While no one except the two of them knows what really happened that day, it is safe to say that Brown showed that he has no respect for neither himself nor others. Brown beat the woman and afterwards had the nerve to say that he did not agree with her speaking about it in public. Once the beating occurred, Chris Brown’s PR people put their crisis communication plan in action; with interviews, public apologies and anything else they could think of to salvage his “good boy” image. As a result of their efforts, Chris Brown quickly began to be accepted by his fans once again and many believed that the beating was an unfortunate mistake that the artist made, not a reflection of who he was as person.
Chris Brown, the guy who brought songs to life that caused girls from all around to tremble with symptoms that can be best associated with Teenage Love, could not possibly be the type of person that would degrade women and make them feel like they were nothing more than a sexual quest. Unfortunately, however, Chris Brown is exactly that kind of person.
Last week during an interview with Funk Master Flex, Brown sat in on an interview and rated music artists Amber Rose, Keri Hilson, Beyonce, Nicki Minaj and Amerie on a scale of 1-10. Women are constantly battling with insecurity issues about their sexuality, weight, looks and hair amongst others and the interview that Chris Brown did on Hot 97 does nothing but add to these insecurities. Brown based his ratings on a combination of swagger and body, which can easily translate to sex appeal—or what it takes to get in bed with Chris Brown and men like him.
It is disheartening every time I witness a man who has such a large fan base degrade females. There are too many men sending these types of messages out to young girls encouraging them to look more like Lil Kim, Beyonce and Trina and it scares me to think about what the next insecure female turned Lil Kim of 2020 will look like as a result of the images that people like Chris Brown are creating. We cannot continue to support men that send these messages out to our youth.
I was set aback when I saw this interview, but tell me what do you think about it?
Antoinette L.T. Russell 