About This Chris Brown and Jenny Johnson Twitter Beef…
You just read this headline and you think you already know what I’m gonna say. You may but the only way you’ll know is to READ this. I put this first because people see the name Chris Brown and they’re ready to GO TO TOWN.
Yesterday, Chris Brown deleted his Twitter account for the FIDDY-ELEVENTH TIME. And folks (including me) cheered. Someone needs to take his Twitter away for his good and ours too. The dude is a jackass and Twitter just made it that much easier for him to show his jackassery on a daily basis. Plus, he’s a public relations nightmare when trusted to his own devices on a mobile device. The dude doesn’t know how to act.
What prompted the deletion was a series of vulgar tweets that Chris exchanged with comedian Jenny Johnson (@JennyJohnsonHi5). It started because Chris posted a picture of himself and captioned it with “I look old as fuck! I’m only 23…” Jenny replied with “I know! Being a worthless piece of shit can really age a person.” Chris’ reply was “take them teeth out when sucking my dick hoe!” And it all went downhill from there as they exchanged a barrage of insults that’ll make anyone clutch their pearls.
Chris eventually deleted his Twitter account. And here we are.
I haz feelings about this. But before I put them in paragraph form, I will put them in bullets. Take these things away from this if nothing else.
* I don’t like Chris Brown. And it’s not just because of Rihanna-Gate. No. The dude is an insufferable nuisance who takes every opportunity presented to him to show the hell out and act a complete belligerent dummy.
* Jenny Johnson poked a drunk, sleeping bear and wondered how she ended up in its’ mouth. In fact, she’s been poking this bear nonstop for 2 years via Twitter. And he ignored her. Yesterday was the day he decided to respond and he did it TERRIBLY.
* Jenny’s tweet to him was antagonistic but his response to her was so out of line that it’s beyond my comprehension that he thought it was ok.
* Both of them are wrong and need to go have a seat.
Have you read and absorbed those four points? Ok good. Let’s carry on into all the WHYs.
Chris Brown is an insufferable nuisance. People don’t just dislike him because of Rihanna-Gate. He’s a grade A asshole. That’s why. I am not one of the people who feels the need to remind folks about how bad he beat her when talmbout why I don’t like him. Read his antics from the past 2 years OUTSIDE of that situation and you’ll see he doesn’t know how to act. And he has a drug problem and needs therapy but whatevs. Let us unite here in agreeing that Chris Brown is an asshole. Thank you.
Jenny Johnson is a Twitter comedian who spends more time than she should trolling Chris Brown. She’s been tweeting him insults for the past two years, and apparently, he blocked her last year. But she makes sure to tweet him even when he’s talmbout the most random things. Dude could say “I just ate breakfast” and she’ll reply with “DID YOU PUNCH IT IN THE FACE TOO?” O___o Just look:
DOING. THE. MOST. And she’s a douchebag herself for these tweets.
Today, when she sent him the “worthless piece of shit” tweet, it musta gotten RTed to him and I guess he had enough. When you stoke the fire long enough, it might burn.
We know Chris already has no sense but she stooped to a level that he understands, he met her there and took it below that level to the pits of Hell. And folks are crying that she was attacked, as if it was seemingly out of the blue.
If you call me a worthless piece of shit, I will curse you out so gahtdamb proper that your scalp will hurt. I have some sense and SOME couth so I wouldn’t say the GAWD AWFUL things that Chris Brown said nor would I have said what Jenny did. I am actually gifted in the art of cussing folks out without using cuss words or hitting below the belt, but that’s just me.
Chris? Not so much. He isn’t clever enough to do much but hurl misogynistic comments at a woman who hates him as much as he hates humility. And for that, he is wack for it. HOWEVER, Jenny Johnson is not an angel in this. She’s been trolling dude for 2 years, and it’s not a good look on her part at all. I get it, she’s a comedian. I roast folks too ALLATAHM.
In fact, Tyrese has me blocked because I make fun of his bad spelling. But never have I (and never will I) send this man a tweet calling him a “worthless piece of shit” or telling him to “suck a giant ball of dicks.” Well then again, I don’t hate Tyrese. I actually like him. I think he’s prolly a nice guy who just can’t spell. But MOST importantly, I know better. And I have boundaries I don’t cross. Even during roast and wig snatching sessions. Jenny’s boundaries don’t seem clear.
Aawww now I feel bad bout roasting Tyrese for bad spelling.
Anyway…
What is Jenny Johnson’s point in constantly tweeting this dude about the incident? To ME, it’s not as much of her defending Rihanna as much as her relishing the demonizing of Chris Brown. She’s doing this not because she’s some evangelist for battered women. It’s because she’s being a bully and in the worst way. Constantly bringing up someone’s painful event is cruel. And she’s a huge jerk for it.
Is Jenny on a mission to make sure that all men who’ve beaten women are shamed each and everyday? I doubt it because she surely doesn’t sit in Charlie Sheen’s mentions replying to his tweets about when he shot Kelly Preston or beat Brooke Mueller. Or does she yell “WOMAN BEATER” at every mention of Sean Penn (who hit Madonna with a baseball bat)? I don’t think so. Which brings me to my other thought.
HOLY BLANKET STATEMENT, BATMAN! THIS IS A GENERALIZATION! Whatever. You will deal.
I said this on Twitter and started a hailstorm. My mentions were in shambles for a full hour. But I thought about how much backlash Chris Brown has gotten and it does not match what people who’ve done similar (if not worse) have received.
Yes, I get that Chris Brown IS more unlikeable than others because of his arrogance and his lack of humility. But the way he’s attacked pretty regularly, especially by white women, you’d think he was the only celebrity to ever put his hands on a woman. And if they’re mad that he hasn’t suffered real consequences for what he did, they need to be mad about A WHOLE LOT of other men who beat women and walked away unscathed. See: the folks I mentioned already.
At the CORE of this issue is people not giving a damb about these women who are being made punching bags at the hands of men. And a lot of people who attack Chris aren’t doing it from a place of “I stand for battered women.” Most are doing it because they want to use him as THEIR verbal punching bag. Which is fine, as long as you call a spade a spade and recognize that.
The damnation of Black men committing crimes is clearly much higher than their white counterparts and in this situation, that’s what it feels like. Hell, many folks don’t remember that John Lennon was accused of beating Yoko Ono but Ike Turner’s name is synonymous with domestic violence. But I’m not going down the rabbit hole on this point so I’ll move on.
Anyway, Jenny Johnson instigated, Chris Brown reacted. Both of them are wrong in HOW they approached this. Both need to have a seat. There are no heroes here and two villains. Huffington Post’s coverage (and reactions of many) of this is incomplete, shallow and wack because Jenny is no angelic damsel in distress. This is not “Birth of a Nation” and Chris Brown isn’t King Kong. She talked big shit like the eJerk she is (I’m one too sometimes) and he responded like the unbalanced dumbass he is. But if you talk some shit, expect to have shit thrown back at you.
Now I’m mad at the fact that I’m semi-defending Chris Brown. That upsets me greatly. Because I think he needs to go somewhere and STFU and get himself together. I am NO member of TeamBreezy.
The moral of this story: Both Chris Brown and Jenny Johnson need to go have a damb seat somewhere.
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111 Comments
ARE THERE NO COMMENTS???? WOW GO ME!! unless some fool decided to hit enter before me -____-
that is a very VALID point ma’am and I think it’s worth exploring more.
after reading her comments, my first thought only HALFWAY thru, was, “this bish right here”..then i remembered jesus died for jenny johnson too..but really, she asked for what he said to her..n i whilst i think it was wrong, it wasn’t actually soooo far out of line, considering she’s already told him to suck a bag full of dicks…his response is really in-kind..
You are 100% right. Both are wrong. Jenny started it and Chris took the bait and ran with it. To Jenny – When you attack someone’s character be prepared to deal with however they decide to respond whether to your liking or not. To Chris – He may have millions of young fans and its easy to feel a bit untouchable, but if the music industry black lists him, again, all he will be left with are those fans, and even they will eventually move on to the next best R&B pop star.
He better watch out for the industry blacklist…I got two words for him: Isaiah Washington.
KMN
I couldn’t have said it better myself.
I used to be a massive Chris Brown fan, still am in some sense but strictly reserved to his music. I am not a fan of the boy at all and I cannot for the life of me see what Rihanna sees in him that she’s willing to lose all vestiges of common sense to be with him.
In the first instance, the excessive tattooing is morphing him into Dennis Rodman day by day, his attitude stinks and I’m pretty sure he has his publicists chained and manacled to a wall somewhere which is why NOBODY can tell this child to observe some form of chill.
I’m just so mad at Chris that he decided to meet this Jenny Johnson character halfway on the road to stupidity. Watch her get a book deal and all sorts of infamy off this encounter while Breezy’s spirals further into the depths of God knows what.
The 50+ woman trolls a boy 30 years her junior for 3 years and in a heartbeat she has become the victim?
Sickening.
Chris Brown makes fantastic music which is why I can’t quit him in entirety but Lord knows he needs a long vacation somewhere with a couple of laser surgeons, no internet access, a therapist and a priest because this path he’s heading down is alarming to watch as a fan and it must be even worse to watch it from within his no-good circle.
*sidebar; Breezy and Rhi are starting to look like Sid and Nancy for the 21st centure to me.
SMH.
YES.
Everything you said. Particularly this: “Breezy and Rhi are starting to look like Sid and Nancy for the 21st century to me.”
When that girl winds up murked in a hotel room someplace, folks are gonna be shocked.
Gods. That *is* frightening!
YES to all of this that you said! I, too, used to be a big Chris Brown fan. Went to two concerts in the span of a week back in the day, did a meet and greet, etc..but this was during his “Exclusive” era, where he still had some chill…After the Rihanna incident….I dunno what happened. And I can’t take up for any of these outbursts. I’ve always asked “Where are his PR people??”, but like Luvvie said, he is a PR nightmare…nobody would wanna take the risk to back him.
Another thing I’ve seen pop up on my TL is “Why is this even NEWS??”..yes, it’s because he’s a celeb, but he’s also a Black celeb. Folks wait for some of “us” to act up! LOL. And I have noticed lots of Chris Brown attackers are white women, like that slut bucket Miranda Lambert, but don’t let me even get started on that.
And yes….that Sid and Nancy comparison is scary but soooo accurate!
This post was a bit of a departure from your normal no-holds-barred hilarity in that it had some very serious content, but I liked it….A LOT. Thanks for pointing out the racial disparity in hatred of abusive men. I got on that soapbox when everyone was hype and supportive of the group that put “This man beats women” stickers on Chris Brown’s album, but weren’t so hype or supportive when they put the same sticker on John Lennon’s album. #thingsthatmakeyougohmmm
CO-MUTHAF**KING SIGN!!!
I could care less for the filthy, drug-addled, mini-savage that is Chris Brown. But if positions were reversed and Jen-acidmouth was a man and Chris a woman, Jen would easily be serving a little time (or at least multiple restraining orders +criminal record) for stalking/harassment. I cannot understand how/why anyone spends 2yrs+ hounding another person down on every breath he takes.
_______/
I disagree on the Charlie Sheen point. The reason why he doesn’t get the same amount of disgust because he has reached a weird place in pop culture lexicon Mike Tyson did. With Mike Tyson eventually people stopped becoming disgusted with his actions and just became amused. Which is why he now has a successful one man show where he talks about beating up prostitutes while high on cocaine. The same thing happened with Sheen eventually people heard suitcase full of cocaine and prostitute locked in the closest and just laughed instead of being disgusted. With Charlie Sheen people are just enjoying the circus.
I disagree-years went by before people forgot what Mike Tyson did (or figured he served his time) while Charlie Sheen was damn near deified and sold out shows WHILE he was being an ass. And every article on the other white men mentioned don’t bring up their abusive episodes the way blog posts do on Chris Brown-I’m looking at you, Jezebel. It’s pretty much like Luvvie tweeted-no one seems to set white women off like Chris Brown does. I’m not Team Breezy but even I get tired of all this outrage.
I’m a black feminist… and I think they’re all equally disgusting.
Gotta cosign with Sharon. Charlie Sheen has done more than his fair share of dirt and was a blatant asshat at the end of his run on 2 & 1/2 Men and everybody loved it!
I’m with you, Luvvie. I’m pretty lukewarm when it comes to Chris Brown (or Mike Vick for that fact) but I am kinda over people constantly bringing up their missteps under the guise of being champions for women (or animals) when they don’t hold the Charlie Sheens of the world up to that same scrutiny.
I’m not saying Brown isn’t an asshole; he’s obviously got issues he needs to work out. But Rihanna’s moved on to a place of forgiveness, why are we still acting butt-hurt?
Chris Brown is outrage porn for Jezebel.
This reminds me of what I see in my 8th grade classroom all the time. Bad kid gets picked on by someone with a better reputation. Bad kid ignores until they get pissed and all hell breaks loose. The “good” kid is all kinds of shocked but that’s what you get. Mama always told me to let sleeping dogs lie.
Yesss!!!! They’re both wrong but I know for me personally I have stock in couth and pride myself for my lack of ratchet moments BUT if you fuck with me enough I will turn into the originator of every foul and despicable word imaginable. Chris took so much before letting her have it because I’m sure people have retweeted her past tweets to him. What he said was bad yes but I would’ve sent her ass an address to come get beat. She’s a crazy obsessed asshole. I love Chris to an extent and I’m not a crazed Team Breezy fan but with all the tweets I’ve seen that woman send him, I really don’t think him telling her to blow d*ck was over the top. It just wasn’t. And yes I know he said more than that but his extreme response after YEARS of harassment? Seriously? People thinking he’s out of line mildly confuses me. People have been known to shoot shit up after a couple months of harassment. He said some vile stuff yes but saying vile things or physically beating her ass like I very well may have? What’s worse? People are human and make mistakes. Constantly. A lot of people don’t learn either .Holding them to a standard 90% of humanity couldn’t reach when under the same circumstances is ridiculous.
And the race thing? Man listen. I broke my soapbox just now so I can’t even go THERE right now.
The Atlantic picked up on this story and said, I quote, “Brown vulgarly ASSAULTED Johnson.” I went IN. Not so fast. She started it. They were both wrong AND she’s a stalker.
John Lennon used to beat Yoko?! And they treated him like the second coming of Christ -_____- The media stay trying to make black men public enemies.
This is a GREAT post that really made me think. I’m white, and really like being reminded to see things the way others do. As far as the hate for Chris Brown being stronger than Charlie Sheen, etc., I do think there is some validity to that, but I also don’t think it’s apples to apples. For one, Charlie Sheen has been acting a fool FOREVER. I’ve grown up knowing he was a worthless piece of shit and therefore live in a world where he’s a wife-beating coke maniac, so nothing he does surprises me. Should there still be outrage that this misogynistic asshole STILL has his own show? YES! But unfortunately, he’s yet to really suffer for his decisions, and people apparently just come to expect it from him. In 20 years, if Chris Brown is still acting the same way (and I’m sure he will be), I doubt people will be up in arms about him, either. As long as people keep buying his records, or in Charlie Sheen’s case, watching his shows (which leads to a whole other set of questions about someone’s level of taste in entertainment. AT least Breezy can sing.), he has no reason to really reevaluate his behavior.
I had NO IDEA about John Lennon. I’m not a huge Beatles fan anyway, so this just makes me like them less. Barf.
I do think in cases like Chris Brown, people stay outraged because A) Ri took him back, and it’s harder to get mad at the victim (even though we should be mad at her for that) and B) he lives his life like nothing happened. He’s still arrogant, not humble and is doing nothing to better himself. And C) He’s talented, and it PISSES ME OFF every time I find myself singing along to a song and then realize it’s him. I feel guilt. Or blame. Something.
I am also NOT going to deny that there could ABSOLUTELY be a racial tie to all of this, as there unfortunately is so often in cases like this. Which is why I’m so glad you said it. I want so much to NOT be one more white person with blinders on, so thank you for making this point and making me think.
” A) Ri took him back, and it’s harder to get mad at the victim (even though we should be mad at her for that)”
Hmm…I was good with your comment right up until here. Rhi is a victim of abuse (whether she started it or not) and most of the time victims of abuse go BACK to their abuser. My mother was abused for a majority of her 30 year marriage to my father. And instead of being mad at her, people were trying to help her. And nothing made her leave…just like with Rhi…and what she needs from people (not fans or stans, the folks that are in her life everyday) is support, a shoulder, and a way out/plan. As much as we would like to tell someone to get the eff out…they will only do it when they are ready. And I don’t think that we should be mad at her for staying or going back…perplexed yes, mad…not in my book. But pretty much everything else you said: co-sign
KMN
AWWWUUHHHLLAAHH DIISSS HURRR.
All of it. Luvviue hounding out Asshole name tags like Oprah: “You’re an asshole! And YOU’RE an asshole!”
CB (I don’t even type the dude’s name anymore) has ALWAYS been an asshole. ALWAYS. I have not liked him since…..ever… but most especially when he did that duet with the used to be heavy Jordin Sparks and people asked if there was any hint of romance and dude curled his lip up and said,”EW! NO!”
You lil PUNK ASS MARK ASS TRICK! Go siddown.
He needs to not ever open another twitter account. Be gone wit it, Bruh.
AGREED…The damnation of Black men committing crimes is clearly much higher than their white counterparts and in this situation, that’s what it feels like. Hell, many folks don’t remember that John Lennon was accused of beating Yoko Ono but Ike Turner’s name is synonymous with domestic violence.
When I read what she was tweeting him I was really like, WHY? She’s too old and should be too grown to be doing that, comedian or not. If she were really outraged she’d want him to get help. I, too think he’s an immature a-hole most of the time, but he has a sad past and he needs therapy STAT (so does Ms. Rihanna). And yes they do look like the ’12 Sid & Nancy together. I see nothing, but sadness in their future if they don’t both clean up.
Chris Brown is such a sad, sad, being. So much potential and talent. I feel like we’re witnessing an epic train wreck. The same meltdown witnessed for Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, hell, even Kanye West. I mean, who are these people’s keeper?
Anyway, I get that Jenny Johnson is crying victim when she’s clearly a troll, but seriously? Are we comparing woman-beaters to make the case for racism in the media?
This article is just YES. CB is I complete buffoon and all his people need to be fired. But almost four (?) years outside this incident & SOME whites are still this offended? And this black man who isn’t shuffling around w/ his head down is an acceptable punching bag…The only point I disagree w/ is the idea he hasnt suffered any real consequences. He successfully (to my knowledge) completed his probation terms, & his image is irrevocably tarnished. Aside from a public lashing, what more do people want? Yes, humility is a desirable trait to most, but treating him as if he owes it tio anyone is problematic. He’s damned if he do, damned if he dont anyways, so part of me understands him just flipping everyone the bird.
I’m curious: how exactly has Chris’s image been “irrevocably tarnished”? His records still get heavily played on radio. His albums still sell. People are still willing to work with him professionally.
He throws temper tantrums at Good Morning America. He acts the fool at the Grammys. He calls an album Fuck All My Enemies (let’s be real, here).
He viciously beats a woman and bites her ear. He tweets “Ask Rihanna if she mad” showing that he has no feelings of shame or remorse as to what he did. He grossly overreacts to internet trolling (in a vulgar, misogynistic way) and has SOME arguing that death threats are a proportional response to Jenny Johnson’s tweets.
Yet his albums still sell. His songs still get played. He still gets invited to awards shows. People are still willing to work with him professionally. And his #teambreezy “legion” still tweet vile abuse at anyone who dares criticize their idol.
So how, exactly, has he suffered?
Please see response in post below…
I don’t even have to say a word! Everybody already went into my mind & gathered my thoughts. CB _/ this seat is for you. And other lady please go to your nearest skyscraper and take one extra step past the last. You poke a pit bull & got bit. Nurse your wound & go away immediately.
Ummm, he was sentenced in a court of law & served his time. He hasn’t been convicted of anything since. Being an asshole & a fiche aren’t illegal. So again, what do people want? A public whipping? As far as his image, yes he still had fans & always will, but come on. He cannot perform publicly w/o some sort if backlash. To say his career has not been affected is disingenuous.
In regard to his vile tweets, she wanted them. Shes been poking @ him w/ a stick for years. Then, when a TWENTY THREE/FOUR year old snaps immaturely, it’s “oh, look at this beast attacking me”. I’m like, b*¢ch puh-lease…(Referring to the comedian, not you, commenter)
Sorry, this was to Daniel above…
This is 100% on point. Love it!
I do feel like there is probably a racial element to the Chris Brown hate vs the less hate for Sean Penn etc, but I think what really broke it for most people is there are PICTURES of Rihanna–pics that were everywhere, that we all saw. The public was less able to dissociate and be like “Oh, well,he-said-she-said. Probably wasn’t that bad”. We saw her face. No denying that.
This is what I was going to say, in terms of “why people focus on Chris Brown specifically”. I have been anti-Charlie Sheen and anti-Sean Penn for YEARS because of their treatment of women; I did not know about John Lennon (yuck). No Country For People Who Abuse Others.
Good one!
Great article! I think no one goes off on Sean Penn (anymore) because when you hear of him it’s normally because of his humanitarian efforts. He’s changed people’s view of him, but he still gets a lot of backlash in Hollywood, its just not on the news all day. Chris Brown continually makes an @as out of himself. Of course he shouldn’t temper his @ssness because of the Rihanna situation, he is WHO he is, but he should have enough common sense to keep it under wraps like the rest of folks. Aside from just not liking him, he goes out of his way to continually remind me WHY I shouldn’t like him. He’s taken the labels placed on him and he has embraced them FULLY.
LOL about Tyrese!
Thank you for posting this. Well done.
I am not going to defend either of these assholes. However, i do not think ‘yeah? sick my dick’ is all that bad of a response to her comment. Meh.
I think you are right that there is more WHITE-LADY-OUTRAGE when black men are involved. Sure, there are reasons and issuez, but that does not make it OK or any less true.
One thing I have noticed, is that white women equally hate Michael Vick and Rapesburger *cough* Ben Roethlisberger. so…there is that.
So thanks again for another great post!
Man… Nobody hates Mike Vick like the white folks.
But we don’t demonize hunters to Bambi’s mom tho.
I’m not going to lie–I am a Chris Brown fan. But I have to agree with everyone else when I say that his latest antics have turned me off. It’s gotten to the point to where whenever I hear his name, I just roll my eyes and say “what did he do now?”. For those who say he hasn’t acted “sorry” for what he did or hasn’t shown remorse–what do you expect him to do? The incident happened almost 4 years ago; he can’t walk around like a sad puppy dog forever. He’s paid his debt to society and they’ve both moved on so why can’t we move on? As far as the Jenny Johnson goes, they’re both in the wrong. She had no business stalking his timeline for the past few years antagonizing him for no apparent reason and Chris’ dumb foolish ass should have known to ignore her ass. He’s never going to get past this “bad boy” image if he don’t learn to ignore people and get some better handlers!
I can’t co-sign this 100% because it falls into the false equivalency fallacy. I agree that Jenny Johnson and Chris Brown both need to have seats, preferably where no one can see or hear them.
When you’re talking about Sean Penn beating Madonna, you also have to take into account all the things he’s done since then to rehabilitate himself and his image. He has basically moved to Haiti and before he was down there, he was camped out in post-Katrina New Orleans. He wasn’t at Hollywood fundraisers, he was actually down on the ground helping people. He’s also made socially conscious films, he has become active in anti-imperialist politics, he has focused on his craft, and he hasn’t persistently been getting into beefs where he shows his misogyny, penchant for resolving conflicts through sexually abusive language and threats. He doesn’t go into Subway and threaten the old man behind the counter because he charged him extra for the extra serving of meat he ordered. He doesn’t get into fights at the club. He doesn’t make homophobic remarks about a man who was sexually abused by a man as a child (I’m gay and I deeply resent the implication that there’s something wrong with being gay and that it is the byproduct of the torture of children). He doesn’t make deeply offensive remarks about dark skinned women. He doesn’t try to throw chairs through windows in NYC, thereby endangering the lives of people going from their 9-5 because he didn’t like a question the interviewer asked. Comparing Madonna-era Sean Penn to Chris Brown is specious, cynical, and craven.
As for John Lennon, most people don’t know about what he did to Yoko Ono. Most people don’t know how emotionally abusive he was to his first wife whom he abandoned once he got famous. He wasn’t living in the age of the 24-hour news cycle, a media that will report when you went to get a cup of coffee, and the time where news is transmitted across the globe within seconds. His behavior was no better than Brown’s but to compare the reporting of that behavior then to the reporting of Brown’s behavior now is to ignore the possibility that the media wouldn’t treat Lennon’s scandal than it does any other scandal. True, John Lennon is a beloved figure, but the press doesn’t care about sacred cows when it comes to getting page-views, selling magazines, and putting asses in seats in front of the television. Scandal is scandal and people like their tea piping hot, not cold ancient tea. Then there’s the fact that Lennon isn’t some feminist icon, especially to feminists of our generation. Yoko is because she was a totally badass artist and revolutionary, and she’s relevant because she’s still alive. John Lennon is a hero to white men who lived during his time, people who are unaware of what he did (that would be a surprisingly high number of people), or people who are willing to ignore his behavior because they see his social activism and revolutionary talent as overcoming his flaws (that is unacceptable and wrong).
To compare John Lennon’s treatment in the media to the way Ike Turner is treated is also specious and fallacious. Yoko Ono, unlike Tina Turner, never really made the abuse she suffered famous. Yoko Ono wasn’t onstage with her abuser and Lennon did not abuse her in public the way Ike did Tina. There is no movie or book written by Yoko Ono detailing the abuse Lennon inflicted upon her unlike there is with Ike and Tina. If you’re going to point out inequality of treatment in media and popular culture, you need to compare like with like. Part of Tina’s success story and what makes her iconic is how she escaped that terrible abuse, how she rose above that abuse, how she escaped that abuse, and her meteoric rise to fame when her abuser was relegated to the dustbin of history. Tina has deep antipathy for Ike and she makes no bones about her story. Yoko Ono has not treated the story of her relationship with John Lennon the same. Again, if you’re comparing two figures from the past and how they are treated, you need to compare like with like. Tina Turner drives much of the narrative about Ike Turner, Ike Turner abused her in public for all the world to see, and Tina turner wrote a book about what he did. Yoko Ono hasn’t done these things. Ike and Tina have a narrative shaped by the survivor, just like Ono and Lennon have a narrative one. Tina has owned her abuse to make it part of her iconic status. It is front and center because she makes it front and center. For some reason, Yoko Ono prefers to ignore the hypocrisy and hide what he did.
The Charlie Sheen situation really exposes how base and tawdry our society has become. People are more concerned with gleefully delighting in his public meltdown and his obvious addiction problems. He wasn’t shunned because people didn’t want the circus to end. Then there’s the appalling reality that the public care more about Rihanna than they did for Sheen’s victims. Everybody knows Rihanna’s name. Rihanna is synonymous with beauty, pop stars, fashion, glamour, and she’s a superstar. Charlie Sheen’s victims aren’t. I think that the outrage over Chris Brown is as much about his victim as it is about him. People don’t care about Sheen’s wife, the girlfriend he shot, the other wife he abused, and his abuse of prostitutes (our society has an abhorrent attitude toward sex workers and treats them as trash). I don’t think the public’s willingness to gloss over Sheen’s abuse has anything to do with racism. I think it has everything to do with classism and our penchant for valuing the suffering of some versus the suffering of others. The media never published photos or police reports about the women Sheen has abused because they know what the public wants and cares about: we care about the battered face of the woman we know, but we couldn’t care less about the battered face of the woman we don’t know. That is so awful. In my opinion, treating some lives and bodies as being less worthy and less deserving of attention exposes something far worse and far more hideous than racism. Putting a premium on Rihanna’s fame while turning a blind eye to the abuse someone you’ve condemned for her profession is so grotesque. Delighting in a man’s spiral of addiction and throwing gasoline on that fire because we enjoy the spectacle shows how utterly lacking in humanity our culture has become. Frankly, I wish it were about race. You can at least make strides toward moving racial attitudes, but lacking basic decency and humanity is a much tougher row to hoe, especially when everyone’s into it.
Chris Brown brings so much of the attention he gets for being abusive because he invokes abusive language when he’s beefing with someone. Rather than going in on this woman as being irrelevant, being less talented than he is, being less famous than he is, having far fewer fans than he does, being less celebrated than he is, or any of the other insults he hurled at her, he reverted to his default: threats of physical and sexual humiliation and abuse. I think that is what is going on here. There are so many other ways to insult someone, but he ALWAYS opts for physical and sexual humiliation. Beefing with someone is one thing, but when you invoke the same language and behavior for which you’ve become infamous, it reaffirms the public’s disdain for you. Then there’s the fact that he has violent outbursts on the regular. He acts out all the time. Menacing employees at stores and restaurants because he feels his fame, fortune, and entourage entitle him to do so is abusive. Taking your neighbor’s handicapped parking space and refusing to move is abusive. Trashing a store and then threatening the employee who asks you to stop is abusive. Getting your bodyguard to taser the guy who asks your friend to stop bullying a Subway employee is abusive. Allowing Chris Brown to escape responsibility by playing the race card only fuels his abuser’s mentality. Chris Brown will forever be an abuser so long as he can fall back on the excuse you’ve given him: I wouldn’t misbehave if you didn’t make me or give me a reason to do so. Allowing him to escape responsibility for his behavior by claiming the very justified criticism HE courts allows him to invoke the abuse of black people to justify his misogynistic, homophobic, classist, and colorist behavior. It is unconscionable to use the injustice black people have suffered to spin a myopic and craven defense of Chris Brown. I know you weren’t defending Chris Brown, but you should know that I’ve seen more than a few people citing what you said to justify Chris Brown’s behavior. They’re saying that you think he was right and that every criticism of him is race based. I’m by no means saying that you shouldn’t say what you feel is right because it might be manipulated by others. I am saying that by giving an over simplified rationale for our society’s response to spectacle, the way narratives are driven by the survivors of abuse, the status of the victim, the behavior of the abuser after the initial allegation of abuse, and the times during which they committed that abuse doesn’t play a far bigger role than race. It isn’t that simple.
Amen.
This post deserves a round of applause.
This is a tome.
Wow. This has been the most accurate description of the media “criminalization” of Chris Brown.
The whole book of Psalms is shorter than this response….
I. JUST. HOLLERED. LMAO!!!
*crying* hahahaahaa
Was this input to the Chris Brown debate, or a shortened version of The Iliad?? Either way, I couldn’t finish it…
Thank you for your great points though.
I’m glad I can let Sean Penn off the hook for doing some terrible stuff because he has done some nice stuff too. It’s like Carbon Offsets! As long as you do some liberal political stuff, you get a free pass at having been a violent abuser. GOOD TO KNOW!
I rarely read comments on blog posts because they are rarely thoughtful, thought-provoking or well-crafted. However, I rise from my barstool to applaud you for this.
This article made me angry, but your comment made everything better. Thank you for taking the time to write it.
Sean Penn is also like 50 years old new, so he had his “bad boy 20’s”, and was able to rehabilitate his image in his 49’s. who us to say Chris Brown won’t do the same?
Well written and valid points
This is a comment everyone should read after reading the article. It’s LONG yes… But it’s as clear an assessment of the situation as you’ll ever get. Applaud this man…
Wow. That was incredibly well written and well thought out. *applause*
THIS by ASNYC is the very definition of critical analysis. And to those who are making fun of the length of this response, some of us think in sentences and some think in paragraphs. Those among us who think in paragraphs are smarter in case you had any doubts.
ASNYC DID speak some truth.
Yes. This right here!
Chris Brown is indeed a wack human being but if you want to continually harass him for being a “woman beater”, you need to get the rest of these celebrity women beaters and rapists too.
Jenny Johnson is petty and unfunny just like Chris Brown.
And I’d be willing to bet Rihanna would LOVE to stop seeing people posting pictures of the worst night of her life. You aren’t standing up for her OR battered women- you’re humiliating her over and over.
I dunno. I don’t want to humiliate anybody, but maybe she needs a big fat reminder as to what he did to her since she is willing to get back with him.
Nope. That would be counterproductive. No one who suffers abuse EVER forgets it. Moving on isn’t forgetting. It’s tucking the pain away or dealing with it over time. To “remind” her of it (aka showing her a pic of her face), could trigger PTSD, which isn’t healthy.
Rihanna’s forgiveness of Chris Brown is something a lot of people don’t agree with (I have no opinion on it) but she’s grown and folks need to let her make this decision. Whether she’s making a huge mistake will be revealed sooner or later. But I don’t think she needs a reminder of that night.
when you are abused you NEVER forget…I would imagine the drinking and drug use that Rihanna is doing is to try to help her forget…she doesn’t need a reminder of what happened to her
As a woman who quite literally had the braid her track was sewn onto ripped off her head trying to get away from a man who was threatening to kill her, I can say quite definitively, you do not need a reminder. If there is anything you recall in your life, it is that.
Tweeting her pics is victim-shaming, and I’m not here for that. Most studies have shown that MOST women don’t leave the first time. The expectation that Rihanna would be any different because she is famous is a false one.
I stand corrected from what I said. I get so angry FOR women that I translate it to anger at them. Not cool on my part.
It’s all good- I understand why people would be sad and disappointed; it’s not a healthy position to be in. But I’ve been on the flipside and while it only took once for me, there’s a volatile mix of emotions there that cannot be dismissed easily or denied.
It is what it is.
Chris Brown needs to grow up, accept the fact that everyone is not over his actions in beating Rihanna, and realize that his constant baiting with people online only makes him continue to look like and be a bad guy in so many people’s eyes.
Ladies (especially white women), please don’t poke the bear. Jenny Johnson was wrong. I can understand having strong feelings about a situation and/or a person but choose your battles.
The various media and communication outlets today bring celeb issues into our homes like never before. Ono hasn’t publicized any issues with John Lennon probably to preserve his musical legacy. Sean Penn may be a humanitarian but he still has a temper that comes out when provoked (hello, paparazzi). Publicity about Charlie Sheen is more about his own self-destruction rather than what has been done to women in his life.
My personal advice especially to the women who continue to bait Chris Brown for what he did is to use their energy to educate and help battered women. For all the time Jenny Johnson spent on Twitter, consider how many women should could have helped.
Why specifically white women though? How about instead of expecting white women to be LESS outraged toward him, we should be MORE outraged toward all abusers getting a pass in Hollywood?
I don’t think this is racial; I think what gets people stirred up about Chris Brown is that he’s not sorry and he got away with it. Jenny Johnson has been snatching his bow tie for years; you know who’s making a big deal out if this? Not Jenny Johnson. People do hate Charlie Sheen for his ways and he’s been to court and jail for his foolery and then he goes on the downlow. Mel Gibson…career’s in toilet; nobody wants to work with him. Chris Brown is young, rich and unapologetic. This is all magnified by how he did that girl Karruche (?) wrong and by the fact that Rhianna, who is also young and rich, took him back. If he was a white guy, a Backstreet Boy, people would still hate him. And his fucking now ties and porn stache.
What exactly did Chris “get away with”. Didn’t he plead out and serve the terms of his probation? Rihanna “taking him back” means he got away with soemthing?
Get it right. Mel Gibson’s career is on pause because he said negative remarks against Jewish people. When he was doing all that hooping and yelling at that woman, people were playing those tapes and laughing. No one is needling Carlos Estevez (aka Charlie Sheen) every day regarding his misgivings… cause one, he’s crazy but he has powerful friends and two, he seems like the type to come see you personally, outside your kids school chainsmoking Camels, and ain’t nobody got time for that. Rhianna is a grown woman, if she wanted him back, that’s on her. I don’t remember her signing up to be an ambassador on domestic violence issues. And why do you assume he was unapologetic? Because he didn’t go on Leno and cry or give $$$ to a womens shelter? Girl please…
Just a small factual thing; I don’t believe John Lennon was ever suspected of hitting Yoko. But he was definitely physically abusive towards his first wife, Cynthia.
But a great piece overall.
Chris Brown deserves all the back lash he gets. Last time I checked he is still a millionaire, still free, still has a career. When he finally realises that we the public owe him nothing he will have a clue
We all know Chris Brown is the Last of the Asshicans and the square root of douchebag is Chris Brown in his Gordon Gartrelle burnt Sienna blouse but STILL. Everyone has a damn limit and he is entitled to going off on someone after 2 years.. Thats 730 days plus of taking the high road.. NAWL. GO OFF ON THAT WENCH BRUH!! She trolled and got that ass handed to her.
I’ve observed how the Charlie Sheen’s and Sean Penn’s of the Anglo world get to flourish and continue to receive accolades while every REGGIN that ever messed up is demonized for life. Its crazy how coloreds are not entitled to second chances like our paler counterparts. Its a continuing trend where the damsel in distress phenomenon is continually being used to make blacks the villains sometimes fairly most of the time unfairly. They say this is a post-racial world right.. YEAH RIGHT. Continue selling that dream.
But is Chris Brown’s career suffering? I’d say not.
Apologies! Not trying to defend the dude, I had just honestly never read a thing about him being physically abusive towards Yoko before. He was an abusive asshole, no doubt. One wonders if he’d be so deified had he been around in a time where physical abuse wasn’t so swept under the rug or, even worse, simply considered normal.
No I understand. It’s all good.
There were no victims here, but there was, clearly, one winner and one loser.
Johnson received the attention she’d been seeking for years, and Brown was forced to delete his account and, yet again, try to explain to the world why he’s not really an asshole, just misunderstood.
Score: Brown-0, Johnson-1
Im just done.
So many seats can be had! Stadium seats! Opera seats!
Beating a dead horse, for sure.
Chris Brown is an idiot. He’s an asshole,sure. But rhi rhi.keeps messing with him. Women still date Charlie Sheen even though they know it might lead to a ER visit. Le sigh…
This lady’s shenanigans are unfathomable. Poke the bear.. More like try to fight a bear. He beats chicks! Like Tyson style beats them…watch out fa he throws you a left hook.
Ijs
Thank You Luvvie. I have been saying the same thing for quite a while now. even in the past 4 years while Chris was being held to task, other male celebs have viciously physically or verbally abused their partners and NOTHING on the scale of the Chris Brown was directed in their way, if ANYTHING at all. Hell, Hugh Hefner’s son beat his girlfriend and caught a case, pleaded no contest to “corporal injury to a spouse or cohabitant” and did any of these so called activists follow him or his daddy around and demand accountability? Nope. Barely heard a word about it. How many of these rock and country artists, actors and high profile businesspeople have done the exact same thing he has if not worse in the past few years, and NOBODY mentions it? Look, he was held accountable in a court of law, he fulfilled those requirements, and i’m honestly hoping he learned his lesson and does not pull that ish again. However, if he did I wouldn’t be surprised, because it seems that that’s what folks want from him. They WANT him to beat a woman again, so they can say “look, told you so, “they” never change”. Why isn’t Chris allowed the same chance at redemption as everyone else? It’s like people won’t be satisfied until he breaks down on camera crying pleading for their individual forgiveness with snot dripping from his nose. Why is it ok that damn near every single time he’s mentioned in white media there is a reference regarding him being a woman beater and so on, but Charlie Sheen is still making millions, running thru women and drinking Tiger Blood? Why keep needling him every single day, trying to hit that nerve and provoke him into being violent? Why was she even still following him if she hated him so much? Because she knew he was an uber easy target, she’ll get all kinds of “yeah, eff that guy” retweets and feedback and attention. Now she’s complaining about death threats while her followers and blogger friends try to justify her actions. And I follow Jenny too and at times she can be funny, but it’s clear she has an agenda.
Even though I do not condone the things Chris has done, I CANNOT and will NOT justify the things Jenny said. She basically poked fun at a very serious issue, and I hope no one thinks what she said and did was okay. If Chris would’ve harassed her, legal action would’ve been taken. So, I do hope that legal action is taken toward Jenny because that was HARASSMENT! If the media spent more time trying to help battered women and less time harassing Chris, maybe there would be less DV. But, I guess the media doesn’t care about domestic violence as much as they claim to.
Lawd I saw this mess this morning and it’s ridiculous. Both people are clearly wrong. Chris Brown responded like an immature 23-year-old and Jenny Johnson is an incredibly immature grown woman to constantly talk about this. I read through the list of tweets you had of her talking about Chris Brown and they weren’t funny. If trying to provoke Chris Brown for her comedic career is her life’s goal; she needs to reevaluate her life ASAP. I’m no team Breezy in any way, but I wish this abuse talk stop happening. Everyone can agree that domestic violence is wrong and not a laughing matter at all (well I suppose everyone can agree it’s no laughing matter except Jenny Johnson), but if the victim of this crime can forgive her abuser, then we all need to just hush about it. Also don’t mistakes Chris’ outrageous antics and arrogance to mean that he’s abusive or will abuse again, just blame it on the fact that he’s a rich, successful, supposedly good-looking, talented, cocky, immature 23 year old.
People also have got to stop bringing up Rihanna in this. She has nothing to do it with it, other than CB saying “ask Rihanna if she’s mad”, which clearly she isn’t. And you guys have got to stop thinking that this man will beat the living daylights out of this girl again. Once a hitter does not mean always a hitter. Their are situations where someone can hit a person once and it never happens again. Let’s just pray that this is the case instead of thinking the absolute worst He let his anger get the best of him one night and clearly it got out of control. None of us was there that night and it’s easy to say, “i would never take that man back if he hit me” but you don’t know until the person you absolutely love does something that awful to you. You guys saw Oprah’s interview with Rihanna; Rihanna was crying because she not only lost the love of her life but also her best friend. If she feels like she can be with him again and that situation never occurs, so be it. But let’s also remember that it’s not even officially if they are back together or not.
Moral of the story: I agree with you wholeheartedly Luvvie.
I understand your point, but I dont think it can be chalked up to race. I know you mentioned it was a generalization, but I think its inaccurate. I think the person who deserves the blame is the media. The way the media covered Charlie Sheen and Chris Brown is as different as night and day (no pun intended). Charlie Sheen was simply presented as a crazy drug addict who lost control. Its a lot easier to be pissed at Chris Brown when pictures of Rihanna flooded the web and he was portrayed a woman- beating, arrogant fool. One has to do research to find that Sheen was charged for the assault of Brittany Ashland (who?) Yeah, and shes no Rihanna. While, anyone with an internet connection, knows some variation of the Grammy incident.
This is not to say that race doesnt play a huge role in media representation, it does. But, your generalization rings true for me and I am far from a white woman.
But, both Jenny Johnson and Chris Brown need ro have their 1st amendment rights revoked
Jenny Johnson knows that if she were to prod a powerful white male celeb about his past that he’d play no twitter games but would make a call that could be career changing for her. Monkey know which tree to climb.
Also, why do women behave as if Rihanna is the only woman in the world to be mistreated and stay? If women left as they should(according to the opinion of others) your comment section might be an nth of what it is. Just a thought.
What I don’t get is why people, Christi Wampler in particular, keep saying CB hasn’t shown remorse or paid the price. Do you not read the same papers that I do? Watch the same news broadcasts? They have captured every interview where he is saying sorry. He immediately admitted his fault in court and is doing everything the court has asked him to do. He founded an organization that is going around the nation doing good work in communities, including a local battered women’s shelter her in Los Angeles. I am so confused about this. What more does he have to do? Serious question. Is there a path to redemption for this 19 year old, now 23 young man for White women. To make this Jenny a victim is laughable. Lord, I have become a CB defender…smdh. Wonders never cease.
I guess I wasn’t aware of all of his apologies. I guess I’m just remembering all his douchebaggery and not his good qualities. The whole “ask Rihanna if she’s mad” comment booms louder in my head. You are right, he paid his bill. I still think he’s a piece of shit but that’s my problem, not his.
And for the record, pretty much if you beat women, sexually abuse people or act like a racist/misogynist/anti-Semite, I’m outraged. If luvvie writes a post about Mel Gibson or Charlie sheen, I’ll be right here, screaming my head off.
They are just always looking for black people to lynch (mj/whitney/amywinehouse/Ike/MLK/malcolmx/fredhampton/assata shakur list goes on and on)
it is not about him beating a woman or about him being a dick
white racist america is the dick here
you racists only ook for any excuse to publicly lynch anothe rblack person
and then when they die you area like “oh how sad we ran her to her death”
mj never convicted of pedophilia the guy accuing him came out saiyng it was an extortion ploy yet white people kepot attacking him and judging him!
roman polanski who actually did this shit ! is being defended and cureenlty lives in swiss or france and gets awards from white people
it is NEVER about what black peopel do or don’t do
they just wanna murder us all and lynch us! they are just looking for a good enough excuse to do it
any decent Christian refrains from judging others as we all have failed /sinned/erred
any enlightened human being doent talk crap about others, unless it is to their face
we needto call racist white america out for what it is
they had mandela on the terror list up until last year now they act liek he is a hero
the fbi killed martin luther king because he tried to firght for human rigths for blacks and working rigths thats when they hdecided to shoot him
lets not actliek white peopel ever gave a shit about us and even those who say they do they are just standing by and watching the mob lynch us while they eat popcorn and enjoy the spectacle
trust me those peopel who say they arent racist but are basically asking for black to let racists abuse them and then remain submissive and keep your head down and take it
are fucking clansmen in sheep clothes
ones are killing us the others try to get in our heads to get us not to fight back
FUCK YOU RACISTS
Where was all the hate when R Kelly was pissing on that young fetus?! I’m not Chris Brown fan but come on!!!
Thanks for the blog because I’m so biased when it comes to Chris Brown (and R. Kelly). I just read the headline and instantly added it to my Chris Brown is a a-hole file. I have to try to think reasonably. Good points about Jenny egging him on and about the white men who never get called out. Thanks to Marva too for showing that he has apologized several times, and all the things he has done since.
1) Show me evidence that Charlie Sheen and Sean Penn have as great a presence on Twitter as Chris Brown. I’m almost certain they do not. If they did, Jenny Johnson would also be after them.
2) It’s not just the white feminists. I’m not white and I hate Brown just as much as they do. He’s an asshole and he DOES NOT GET A PASS because of his race. That is bullshit.
I’m not white either and I despise him just as much as the average white woman. I also don’t think his race is why he gets so much public vitriol. A lot of the publicity is because of who he beat. Rihanna is a massive star and the photos of her face were everywhere. If she was a non-celeb I think the furore would have died down ages ago. Also his outbursts haven’t helped the matter. Things like throwing chairs and his ‘fuck you haters’ show infer that he isn’t sorry and people take real issue with that. He shoots himself in the foot with his own behaviour and needs to learn to STFU.
I have never seen anything like this in my life. Somebody call Mulder and Scully out of retirement. Chris Brown did everything he was ordered do. He did not commit any crimes after that. He did not commit any crimes before that. The court of law agrees with me. What happened in 2009 was not good, but none of you people had a dog in that fight. I know you people like to pretend you did, but you didn’t. You people have milked this story for so long, the cow dropped death a long time ago. Chris Brown does not have a long history of abuse. Chris Brown did not kill your mother. Rihanna and Brown did not have an abusive relationship. I’m going by all the actions of all the people involved, not by what I want to believe. Chris Brown was not bothering or thinking about Jenny Johnson. Jenny Johnson was harrassing someone she does not even know. He should have ignored her, but she disrespected him first. If someone did that to me I damn sure would defend myself. Johnson is now another nobody who got his or her 15 mins of fame by using the 2009 scandal. None of you critics really give a rat’s ass.
Love this article. I actually think Chris Brown is super talented and I hope one day that he stops taking the bait and proving to be is exactly who people say he is. I just have a problem with people acting like they are the forgiveness police and only they can decide who gets a pardon. I also have a problem with following celebs on Twitter to taunt/harrass/stalk them daily and cry a river when they snap back at you for what why waste the energy you don’t like him put Chris Brown in a filter or zip him so you dont see his tweets or ignore him. Those who antagonize him aren’t doing it to champion the abused their doing it for RT’s and followers and that’s lame. These two or both wrong. A bully is a bully even when theyre bullying a bully.
Let me explain why I cheer for people like Jenny who ‘call out’ guys like Chris Brown who beat up women. Brown isn’t being attacked because he is black, but because we saw the photos and know EXACTLY how vicious the assault was. With most celebrities, we don’t know if they did what they are accused of doing. People can and do lie about crimes. Photos and videos don’t lie.
Any man who hits a woman is a piece of Sh*t. She’s a comic, and he’s her target. Hopefully it’s an on-going reminder to all men that if you beat up women, other women will hold you accountable. Most of us anyway.
So glad you pointed out that some of the people who are dogging Chris Brown couldn’t give a damn about domestic violence. She’s been waiting two years to get her 15 minutes, and I created a Twitter account doing the exact same thing. She blocked me in 12 minutes. She can dish it out but she sure can’t take it. She would’ve been more productive volunteering for the past two years with women’s shelters instead of Twitter harassing him. Now she’s tweeting about keychains and Girl Scouts. She’s got to be the most STRUGGLING comedian I’ve ever heard of, and where’s the part when she gets to be funny? I’m still waiting for her to make me laugh outside of laughing AT HER for having an Instagram image of him blocking her. She must be the worst ex-girlfriend ever.
Luvvie: I am so ecstatic that you wrote this excellent piece concerning Chris and “white woman rage.” I have been waiting for someone to say this since the scandal happened. A racist will NEVER admit anything they do is racist (See anything racist about Obama and Michelle: ex. I threatened to kill that N—r, but I’m not racist!). She forgot to add she has (1) Black friend.
I used to get angry and say I don’t give a damn why whites hate Chris so much, they didn’t buy a sound bite of his music before that anyway! I’m an older woman like Jenny, and to me Chris is a child; he’s (hopefully) still learning. Maybe by the time he’s 50; like Sean Penn-he’ll learn to hold his tongue better also. This demonizing of young Black men (including Michael VicK), as if what they do is worse than anyone else (in my opinion)-adds to this trend of white folk going “off” at the drop of a hat (because they’re “afraid for their lives”), on young Black men: to the fatal end of often defenseless young Black youth. OK I’ve climbed on my soap box…getting down.
I see that a lot of people have taken the adage “The enemy of my enemy…” and added an a$$-backwards twist to it. And I am more offended by that than about this Twitter beef that is going on.
Judging off of Jenny’s history of tweets, she is a Twitter troll who is tweeting insults (and some racist ones as well) and trying to pass them off as jokes, so I do not feel sorry for her.
I guess for some individuals, her history as a troll doesn’t bother them just as long she is insulting celebrities that they don’t like.
Great write-up. I do agree with the points raised by ASYNC about false equivalence, but I still think you are right that our society generally treats transgressions by black men as greater crimes–our incarceration rates prove it.
But I don’t get equating a few tweets as “poking the bear.” Chris isn’t as tough as he makes out, and his responses didn’t bother Jenny.
Anyone who follows comedians or writers on Twitter knows that this is a standard Twitter “joke” method, however misguided. Rob Delaney does this (and creates fake retweets for) Wal-Mart, McDonalds, and many politicians. I know it’s only anecdotal, but I have personally seen dozens of similar tweets directed at Kim Kardashian (some by Jenny) and other famous, prolific tweeters. Chris Brown was posting public statements on a public website and she was responding unkindly. Boo hoo. As many people have pointed out, he’s a grown man who made the choice to engage with a very public, troll-heavy platform. This happens regularly to all vaguely public people. It isn’t nice, but to respond with the style of aggressive suggestions of sexual humiliation just reinforces her assertion that he is an abuser undeserving of public forgiveness.
Anyway, this exchange wouldn’t have garnered so much attention if Chris Brown hadn’t thrown a fit and deleted his account. And people wouldn’t feel sorry for Jenny if CB’s fans weren’t still tweeting rape and death threats to her 48 hours after the fact. That isn’t CB’s fault, though it would be an unexpectedly classy move for him to issue a statement discouraging his fans from making rape and death threats. He’s a talented guy. I hope he’s able to come to terms with the fact that he’s a public figure, and with the reputation he has made for himself he needs to be more respectful towards women–even the bitches–to help rebuild his good name.
SMH at Black women running in to defend a woman beater. You all need to have 10,000 seats with this bs. I’m a Black woman and it’s sad that white feminists are the ones putting his feet to the fire. Of course some tread lightly because they don’t want to be branded a racist, but they’re not.
If this were a decent society, Chris Brown wouldn’t be able to show his damn face in public much less climb on a damn stage. Instead of demanding that all men who beat women face justice, the response is well white people do it too.
I’m so sick of that argument. It doesn’t make it right. Misogyny and violence must be eradicated and I’m glad someone put their foot up his tweeting ass.
Wow this was a great read! Thank you.
Black male apologist tripe. When will black women ever learn….
The smart thing to do is not attack white feminist but attack ALL men that harm women.
More proof that in the wrong hands 140 Twitter characters is 140 too many…
“DOING. THE. MOST. And she’s a douchebag herself for these tweets.”
yeah she’s a nitwit…but some of those replies were pretty funny…
(hangs head and slinks out of thread)
BS! White women; feminists included, are always the ones who enjoy putting a Black man’s “feet to the fire.” Then they cry “rape” when they don’t like the results or when they just feel like having some entertainment. That’s been going on from back in the day-til now. White feminists do not give a damn about black women. I’ll give credence to their anger and “righteous indignation” about something a Black guy does when they put their foot up the asses of white assholes equally! (Ha-how about that for equal rights)
There is one crucial difference between Chris Brown, Charlie Sheen and Sean Penn and it’s not race. It THE picture. I have no idea what Sheen’s victims or Madonna looked like àfter their bouts. I do know the the Chris Brown /Rhianna story did not take flight with the public until after the police released THE picture of Rhianna. Then it got real for a lot of people. Seeing that girl beaten to a pulp took this from a he said/she said to “Damn. He whipped her.”
It’s true that when someone black does something criminal that it is magnified over when a white person does the same thing. But in this case, Chris Brown abused another celebrity and left photographable marks, which everyone saw. That is a huge factor in why people react to him with disgust.
the reason race plays a role is because of our past, people of other races say forget that we were slaves and move on, those who felt it knows it. The black fathers have a role, the black mothers have a role another race beating him because he beat her will showcase his anger mismanagement as usual but now johnson is getting death threats and it’s oooo black people violent. white people can be sly and quiet when angered but blacks scream and yell, don’t deny it
i forgot to praise the article and the comments, discussions are great. let’s raise better kids. we will not always be here to talk about it so we had better do something in our own lives with all this positive energy
peace yall
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[…] drama unfold in horror and that’s when everybody started to hate Chris, including people like Jenny Johnson, who made no apologies for taking Chris Brown’s every tweet and making it the butt of her […]
[…] remember the Twitter beef that happened because Jenny Johnson kept taunting Chris Brown? Or that fact that OJ Simpson was found innocent for his wife’s murder but they never let […]
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