February 21, 2012 Linsay Cheney

lcheney@connectstatesboro.com

    The 2012 Grammy Awards ceremony, which aired last Sunday evening on CBS, has since sparked outrage in many viewers over the attention R&B star Chris Brown received during the show — just three years after assaulting his then-girlfriend Rihanna.
    Remember that? Here’s a refresher.
    According to the 2009 police report, L.A. cops responded to a “screaming woman,” later identified as Rihanna, who was observed to be “very upset and crying.” The woman told officers that she and boyfriend Chris Brown had gotten into an argument over something that had occurred at an event they were attending earlier in the evening at the Beverly Hilton Hotel — on the eve of the 2009 Grammy Awards — and in anger, she slammed both her fists against the passenger-side dashboard as the couple was traveling in a car.
    Brown then pulled the car over and tried to shove Rihanna out, but his efforts were stymied because she was wearing a seatbelt.
    “When he could not force her to exit, he took his right hand and shoved her head against the passenger window of the car. The victim then faced the defendant and he punched her in the left eye with his right hand. He then continued driving.”
    He continued punching her with his right hand as he drove. Rihanna told the police the “assault caused her mouth the fill with blood and blood to spatter over her clothing and the inside of the car.”
    Brown told her, “I’m going to beat the shit out of you when we get home! You wait and see!”
    Rihanna tried to call her personal assistant, but the assistant didn’t pick up. Rihanna said she “pretended to talk, saying ‘I’m on my way home. Make sure the cops are there when I get there.’ ”
    Brown looked at Rihanna after her fake phone conversation and said, “You just did the stupidest thing ever! Now I’m really going to kill you!”
    He began to unleash a second round of punches as Rihanna shielded her face with her arms. He threw her phone out of the car, placed her in a headlock, then bit her on her left ear. After punching her some more, he again placed her in a headlock, and she began to lose consciousness. He then bit two of her fingers.
    Rihanna tried breaking the passenger window with her shoe while Brown continued to punch her. When he finally got out of the car, she opened the door and screamed for help, which was met with more punches.
    After the assault, when Brown couldn’t find his keys, which had been taken out of the ignition by Rihanna, he took some CDs from the car and walked away. The police did not locate him in the area.
    Sunday’s award show was literally a return to the scene of the crime, an assault for which Brown later pled guilty and was sentenced to five years probation and six months community labor. Since then, he’s halfheartedly attempted to repair his Hollywood image, and with two performances and an award for best R&B album, the 2012 Grammys chose to celebrate Brown and endorse his comeback.
    However, you won’t find me riding that bandwagon. Although many people, including Rihanna, have wished the artist the best and advocate giving him a second chance, my feelings are more in line with Miranda Lambert, who tweeted Sunday, “How dang long did they give Nicki Minaj to do whatever that was? Strange. And Chris Brown twice? I don’t get it. He beat on a girl…” She went on to say, “Not cool that we act like that didn’t happen. He needs to listen to Gunpowder and lead [sic] and be put back in his place. Not at the Grammys.”
    Of course, Chris Brown has since responded with his typical “haters make me famous” nonsense, basking in the glory of the publicity and wearing his immaturity like a badge of honor.
    In my world, people earn second chances by showing remorse and attempting to better themselves. They acknowledge their mistakes and don’t shy away from speaking about them in an effort to educate others.
    Basically, they don’t act like Chris Brown. My world doesn't have room for people like him.

    Linsay Cheney is the editor of Connect Statesboro, and she loves to hear from readers! Email her at lcheney@connectstatesboro.com.

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