Chris Brown, Charlie Sheen, Race and Domestic Violence
By Special Correspondent Nadra Kareem, originally posted at Bitch Magazine
Which celebrity has earned more bad press for reported acts of domestic violence—Chris Brown or Charlie Sheen?
When gossip Web site TMZ.com criticized Brown Jan. 21 for appearing with designer Jean Paul Gaultier, in makeup that made him look bruised and bloodied for a “warrior-themed runway show,” visitors to the site accused TMZ of vilifying Brown while giving Sheen a pass for allegedly battering his wife on Christmas.
Take a commenter who wrote: “Charlie Sheen beat his wife’s ass and tried to kill her only one month ago!! The only thing you guys seem to want to cover is him visiting the wife he beat in the hospital, but Chris Brown one year later is still being criticized. That is simply racism to the fullest extent. …So my question is, where is all the bad press for Charlie Sheen…?”
Another wrote: “TMZ STOP IT!! Love Gaultier and love Chris Brown!! Leave this kid alone. You sure did a nice write up on Charlie Sheen earlier. You people love to rip black people apart, while you allow white people to redeem themselves. It’s sad…”
And still another remarked: “Give it a rest people…Funny how you constantly slam Chris Brown, but praise Charlie Sheen and attempt to garner sympathy for him. So biased it is ridiculous.”
If you’re wondering why I’m highlighting comments left on a gossip Web site, it’s because TMZ.com played a significant role in influencing public opinion about Chris Brown’s battery of Rihanna. TMZ was the first media outlet to release the photo that the Los Angeles Police Department took of Rihanna following Brown’s beating of her. Moreover, by breaking big news stories (however unscrupulously) such as Michael Jackson’s death or the medications found in Brittany Murphy’s home after her demise—TMZ has come to be seen as a reliable source of information on celebrity news. That said, I think it’s fitting to weigh in on the site’s coverage of Brown and Sheen.
So, is TMZ vilifying Brown in ways that it has failed to vilify Sheen? I’m inclined to agree with commenters who said that TMZ not only hasn’t vilified Sheen but has also tried to garner sympathy for him. After reporting that Sheen’s wife, Brooke Mueller, had accused Sheen of domestic violence on Christmas Day, the Web site first moved to discredit Mueller, reporting that she was legally intoxicated when police showed up to intervene. And the commenters above are correct when they say that there’s been underlying sympathy throughout reports about Sheen needing permission to visit Mueller in the hospital when she developed a high fever related to oral surgery.
But is race to blame for TMZ’s difference in reporting about two entertainers accused of domestic violence? We could argue that Brown has been more vilified by TMZ, or even in the comment threads of feminist Web sites like Jezebel.com (or this web site), because he lacks the star power that Sheen has. The latter has been a household name for decades, with a famous father and brother, to boot. Plus, while Brown’s victim is famous, Sheen’s wife is not. Perhaps there’s been more vitriol for Brown because the public knows who Rihanna is but remains largely unfamiliar with Mueller. Also, the cliché that a picture is worth a thousand words may certainly be true in this case. When TMZ published the picture of Rihanna’s battered face, the pubic was able to see firsthand the horrific violence that Brown inflicted on her. In contrast, no pictures surfaced of the alleged finger marks that Sheen left on Mueller’s neck after reportedly threatening to kill her. Lastly, maybe Brown worsened matters by repeatedly discussing his battery of Rihanna in the media. After each apology, some viewers questioned Brown’s sincerity and were disgusted that he seemed to be trying to garner sympathy for himself in the midst of these apologies. Sheen, however, hasn’t granted interviews about his alleged attack on Mueller.
All things considered, the idea that race factors into how differently Brown and Sheen are being portrayed tugs at me. I can’t help but to agree with the commenter who pointed out that whites are allowed to redeem themselves while blacks are not. White ex-cons, for example, are much likelier to be able to land work than black ex-cons are. That’s because employers are more likely to be forgiving of white felons, to believe that they can be rehabilitated, and give them a second chance. Meanwhile, a black man doesn’t even have to be guilty of a crime to be perceived as guilty. Racial profiling, police brutality and wrongful convictions for blacks all indicate this problem.
Clearly, Chris Brown is guilty—and of a despicable crime, no less. But because he’s African American, will it be harder for him to redeem himself in the public eye than a white celebrity guilty of a similar crime? If he genuinely changes, that is.
Your thoughts?
Carmen Van Kerckhove is co-founder and president of
Chanda wrote:
I am sensitive to the differential in treatment based on race here. I think they should BOTH be treated like they are despicable pricks. As a former victim, I’m not really interested in whether they are getting fair treatment in their struggle for redemption.
So I think the argument needs to be turned around. The question isn’t why Brown isn’t being treated the same as Sheen. The question is why Sheen isn’t getting treated the way Brown is because that’s what should be going on.
I’m tired of listening to people talk about how hard this has been on Brown. It’s offensive to me, to Rihanna and to all of the women and men who have been victims in a society where we are asked, all too often, to coddle the aggressor.
Posted 03 Feb 2010 at 12:10 pm ¶
Kat wrote:
None of the two should be allowed to “redeem” themselves, since neither truly regrets. Both Chris Brown and Charlie Sheen are despicable. And I really dislike how much you focus on the perpetrator here, rather than on the victims.
Posted 03 Feb 2010 at 12:11 pm ¶
Letinstar wrote:
I’d also like to add that Charlie Sheen shot…. I repeat SHOT! Kelly Preston a former girlfriend and current wife of John Travolta. Never got much as a slap on the wrist for that incident either.
Posted 03 Feb 2010 at 12:17 pm ¶
Eva wrote:
I think if Chris Brown had beat up a woman who wasn’t as well known as Rihanna, the story would never have gone anywhere.
I don’t think the author is codding Brown, the point is why is Sheen getting a pass? Beating up someone is wrong, no matter who does it and no matter who the victim is.
Posted 03 Feb 2010 at 12:21 pm ¶
Deaf Indian Muslim Anarchist wrote:
Yes, of course, race have to do with it.
Case in point? MICHAEL VICKS.
Posted 03 Feb 2010 at 12:27 pm ¶
Talulah wrote:
I think that everything you mentioned is a factor–the length of Sheen’s career, his famous family, his wife’s relative anonymity, his whiteness. And the thing we all have to remember is that Hollywood and celebrity journalists have literally been protecting Sheen for DECADES now. His ex-wife Denise Richards accused him of abuse (although she soft-pedalled it and said he “just” shoved and threatened her), and he “accidentally” shot a former fiance in the arm. He also pleaded no contest to battery charges in 1996: he threw a woman to the floor and paid less than 3,000 bucks to get out of it. I can’t find anything to substantiate this, but I think he was also accused of harming the mother of his oldest daughter? Basically, this has been going on for probably longer than I’ve been alive. If he’d been any other white guy actor, his career would have been over by the 1990s just because of his drug use and general instability; since he’s a Sheen, though, he gets seemingly unlimited chances.
All that being said, though, I think race definitely is a huge part in how both men have been treated by the media. Chris Brown deserves to take massive shit and I don’t feel a bit sorry for him, but I don’t deny that he’s largely taking all that shit because he’s an easy target. He wasn’t THAT famous and the woman he beat up is a HUGE star and, oh yeah, he’s black. Meaning that he slots very neatly into our ideas about violence and masculinity and black masculinity in particular. The media could take a hard line on him for all of these reasons, and they did. They go easy on Sheen because, well, they’ve ALWAYS gone easy on Sheen–why change the game now?
I do find it very interesting that no one ever seems to bring up the idea of having a “Latin temper” as far as Sheen is concerned. Not that I believe that stereotype or want to see it play out, but it is interesting to note that a man whose given name is Carlos Estevez can so completely avoid that.
Posted 03 Feb 2010 at 12:28 pm ¶
Deaf Indian Muslim Anarchist wrote:
and the fact is– Charlie Sheen had been accused of domestic abuse countless of times… but he still gets a pass because he’s WHITE.
Posted 03 Feb 2010 at 12:28 pm ¶
Mary wrote:
There’s absolutely a racial double standard at play, especially since Charlie Sheen has a longer history of this kind of crap. But it drives me crazy when people see the answer as “give Chris Brown the kind of pass Charlie Sheen is getting” instead of “shut down Charlie Sheen the way Chris Brown got shut down.” Basically, I fully agree with Chanda and Kat that both Sheen and Brown are despicable.
What is sad is that even with these things going in her “favor” (to the degree that anything in this kind of situation can go “in your favor”), there are STILL people who blame Rihanna, think she’s “playing the victim” or was stupid not to leave him earlier or whatever. There’s a really awful intersection here between a racial double standard AND the knee jerk victim-blaming impulse society has.
Posted 03 Feb 2010 at 12:37 pm ¶
not_yet wrote:
This post is on point. Because people of color, are inherently viewed as violent or seemingly sub-human, they are denied rational notions of redemption. This has been played out in the Mike Vick scenario as well.
However, I do believe that Rihanna’s fame alone is the single reason why Chris Brown will have a more difficult time. This society doesn’t care about anyone…regardless of race or gender…if they aren’t attractive and more importantly famous.
Many rappers and rock stars have had REPEATED accusations related to physical and sexual violence towards women. Charlie Sheen has as well. This largely goes unnoticed due to the victims invisibility.
However, I honestly think that as a feminist it strikes me as odd that so many women can concede that abuse can lead to self-destructive behaviors for women, but ignore the fact that as children boys who see abuse are in fact victims of abuse themselves. These situations leave everyone with emotional scars and we can’t only be sensitive to the wounds inflicted on women and hold men solely accountable for their actions while we rationalize and give both social and academic cover for women who “act out” as a result of childhood trauma. Both Rihanna and Chris Brown (unlike Charlie Sheen) are very young adults who shouldn’t have this one moment define their entire lives. And I think its relevant to both this post and any discussion of this situation to acknowledge that both Rihanna and Chris Brown reportedly were exposed to violence. While this doesn’t make it ok, it should give us insight into both of their behaviors. Hitting…ANYONE is wrong. And unfortunately, even socially evolved women have joined the kneejerk “don’t hit a woman” analysis of this situation. Violence is wrong…a simple one-sided gender focused analysis does both everyone a disservice.
Posted 03 Feb 2010 at 12:53 pm ¶
Val wrote:
Consider how Kanye West has been treated after the VMA incident. People acted as though Taylor Swift was accepting a Nobel Peace Prize. The jokes and ridicule of West is still going on. His career has been put on hold because of it.
I absolutely think that Brown has received different and more harsh treatment in the media than Sheen.
Brown is a vicious thug in the media and Sheen a nice guy who has problems.
When they both deserve the same harsh treatment.
Posted 03 Feb 2010 at 1:12 pm ¶
Mickey wrote:
And let’s not forget the voicemail message Denise Richard’s kept of Charlie bitching her out and, in the end, calling her an “effing n-word.”
Posted 03 Feb 2010 at 1:22 pm ¶
kenda wrote:
I don’t see anything wrong with focusing on the perpetrator when the purpose of the post is examining how the public perceives Chris Brown vs. Charlie Sheen.
As far as why Sheen hasn’t been treated as negatively, I think it’s a combination of his celebrity, his wife’s lack of fame, and his race. What each of these men did was despicable, but power & privilege can garner your more public sympathy than you deserve.
Posted 03 Feb 2010 at 1:24 pm ¶
aimerrouge wrote:
-I do find it very interesting that no one ever seems to bring up the idea of having a “Latin temper”-
It’s probably not mentioned because
1) his name is “Sheen”
2) he’s only played “White” guys
3) he doesn’t look (stereotypically) Latino
Posted 03 Feb 2010 at 1:32 pm ¶
Clio wrote:
I definitely agree that Rhianna’s fame has a lot to do with it, and I don’t discount race, but I think there’s also the issue of Chris Brown’s image being so based on being a nice young man who was multi-talented, whereas no one was particularly surprised to hear that Charlie Sheen’s name was in the Hollywood Madam’s black book. So if we’re talking about image reconstruction, Sheen doesn’t need to do any because the people who think he’s abusive already think that, and the people who don’t care, already don’t care. With Chris Brown, the idea that he’d beat up Rhianna—particularly just hours after they were seen in public together—was viscerally shocking.
The other side of the Rhianna is famous is that Mueller is in treatment right now. So instead of being coded as “nice girl who got suddenly beat up by seemingly nice boy boyfriend,” a scenario many people could put themselves/their sisters/their daughters in and be horrified, it’s “two people in a violent, codependent, drunken relationship have a fight.” And though people are ALSO familiar with that scenario, they are much less likely to put themselves into it. Similarly, Denise Richards can talk all she wants about whatever Charlie did to her, because she still dated her best friend’s recent ex, and even Oprah called her out on that—she violated the “sisterhood” and that keeps her from being the 100% victim that we know the public needs in order to side with her.
There’s just something very “clean”, for lack of a better word, about the Chris Brown/Rhianna situation that you don’t find in a lot of Charlie Sheen’s problems, at least in the way they are portrayed to the public. Which could just mean that he can afford better PR.
Posted 03 Feb 2010 at 1:36 pm ¶
Lady Di wrote:
You know what? It’s interesting that racialicious posted this double standard because I remember The View touching on this subject. I remember hearing Sherri discuss that she felt there was a double standard and when Barbara asked her did she think race was a factor? She had to reject the idea to comfort the feelings of Elizabeth, Barbara, and Joy. I was amazed of how Sherri had to hide her real feelings of the situation to accomodate their feelings. I blame the post-racial movement on this lol. However, I do think whiteness, age, and longetivity in the entertainment industry allowed Charlie Sheen to get a pass. Also image as well. Charlie is known as a “bad boy” so therefore some people expected him to act a certain way. Whereas Chris Brown’s image is not constructed the same way as Charlie’s so more venom was put on Chris. I think both were wrong for their actions so no pass should be given.
Posted 03 Feb 2010 at 2:41 pm ¶
ChallengingPrivilege wrote:
Chanda says: “The question isn’t why Brown isn’t being treated the same as Sheen. The question is why Sheen isn’t getting treated the way Brown is because that’s what should be going on.”
I think this sums up the whole argument, right there. Yes, there is disparity in their treatment. But they should be equally vilified, as the abusive people that they are. It doesn’t matter that Sheen has x number of assaults under his belt compared to Brown’s one; one is too many, and x number is even worse.
Both need some serious counseling/anger management/accountability thrown upon them, and neither deserves the public’s support, black or white.
Posted 03 Feb 2010 at 3:25 pm ¶
Solange wrote:
I agree with most of the comments here…. Chris Brown garnered more negative press for all of the above. However I find it interesting that these two would even be compared… Sheen is old enough to be CB’s dad. Chris is only what 20 years old or so. He’s not a kid but he’s very young. Sheen on the other hand is older and has been beating women for years.
Posted 03 Feb 2010 at 3:34 pm ¶
Queen B wrote:
When the Chris Brown/Rhiana incident first happened, my first thoughts went to Charlie Sheen because he has a well documented history of mistreating women and yet his career has gone on interrupted regardless of his criminal past.
I did not understand why radio stations stopped playing Brown’s music while Sheen is allowed to have a hit show on CBS- it seemed like a double standard.
I absolutely believe race has played a factor in the way these two cases have been perceived. The ratings for Sheen’s show have remained constant while Brown’s last album has not performed well.
Brown immediately lost his endorsement with Doublemint gum but it took a couple of days for Haines to make a statmeent regarding suspending ads featuring Sheen.
In criminal law, the courts always take into account “aggravating” and “mitigating” factors. Brown had no criminal record, was only 19 at the time of the crime and had grown up in an abusive household so those are “mitigating factors”.
On the other hand, Sheen is in his 40s, has a history of abusing women and a criminal record so those are “aggravating” factors.
If anyone deserves a second chance it should be Brown but so far it seems like many will never forgive him meanwhile people are dismissing Sheen’s conduct because he has a “bad boy” reputation and thus his violent conduct is somehow excused. I find the entire Sheen situation deplorable.
Posted 03 Feb 2010 at 3:49 pm ¶
Lena wrote:
I think the people should stop committing crimes and then we wouldn’t have to worry about who is getting a tougher sentence than who.How very simple of me.I don’t feel bad for Chris Brown and when the writer uses words such as villify, villifying, it defitnetly seems like they consider the PERP some kind of victim.
Alot of what the writer says in regards to POC being given tougher sentences and harsher punishment is not brand new and it is not likely to change in a society where you have those who are viewed by the ruling race/class, and the non ruling races/classes,as racially superior and those that are deemed racially inferior.
@not yet I find it odd that you would find fault PARTICULARLY with feminists regareding the issue of not recognizing how males can be affected by violence early in their youth.I don’t even think that feminist dont recognize the serious issue of a boy being exposed to violence at an early age.I actually think they know this but their cause is for the rights of women primarily.Are you expecting these women to do more to help boys in those situations?If so WHY?
Posted 03 Feb 2010 at 4:07 pm ¶
Ejunco wrote:
Wasn’t Charlie Sheen already a crazy type of guy? I mean he’s done drugs, called call girls and admitted to it went to rehab and probably still does drugs. His last wife Richards he threatened her with violence. The public is probably more use to Charlie doing dumb stuff than they are with Chris Brown. Then again the media possibly put more effort on Chris Brown than Charlie. Even my mom wasn’t suprised that Charlie did what he did.
Posted 03 Feb 2010 at 4:11 pm ¶
Lena wrote:
not_ yet The fact still remains that MEN are the number one perps of violence in this country.Women being violent needs to be addressed also but we still can’t change the facts.
in Response to:. And unfortunately, even socially evolved women have joined the kneejerk “don’t hit a woman” analysis of this situation. Violence is wrong…a simple one-sided gender focused analysis does both everyone a disservice.
Posted 03 Feb 2010 at 4:12 pm ¶
Brooke wrote:
@Chandra, re: #1 – yes, co-signed.
Posted 03 Feb 2010 at 4:14 pm ¶
Kat wrote:
@ aimerrouge: He isn’t Latino. Charlie Sheen is 1/4 Spanish (from Spain).
Posted 03 Feb 2010 at 4:23 pm ¶
Mary wrote:
This is a great point. I remember when the Chris Brown/Rihanna story first broke, and the stories came out that Brown’s stepfather had been violent. I remember feeling kind of sad about that (NOT in the sense of excusing Brown’s actions) and thinking “Maybe this will be a wake-up call for him, to get out of the cycle.” So far I don’t get the impression that it has been. I hope I’m wrong. Point being that Charlie’s had so many MORE incidents that should have been “wake up calls” and just keeps going.
Tangentially related to that, there may also be the “she should have known better” factor going on with Sheen’s wife. Like, if you sign up to be in a relationship with Charlie Sheen, you should know he’s going to treat you like crap. This is despite the free pass he’s gotten from the media – gee, no mixed messages there at all. Rihanna, on the other hand, could be “forgiven” (I hate using that word) for going into the relationship thinking that Chris Brown would be a nice, nonviolent guy. This still speaks to the incredibly messed up way we talk about domestic violence, as if women are the only ones with rational decision making capabilities while abusive men just “are what they are.”
Posted 03 Feb 2010 at 4:45 pm ¶
Gregory A. Butler wrote:
I have to agree with what many others are saying here.
Both Charlie Sheen and Chris Brown are despicable, cowardly and pathetic misogynists.
I suspect the reason that Sheen is getting much better press than Brown are because he’s perceived as White (even though he’s Latino) – it also helps that he’s “hollywood royalty” because of his father and his brother, and Brown is not.
Posted 03 Feb 2010 at 5:22 pm ¶
octogalore wrote:
I think race has a lot to do with it, and agree with others above that factors like Sheen’s family being respected are key as well. Sheen is a comic actor and Brown an urban singer and so there is bias there as well. Finally, I think the emergence of the pictures of Rihanna after being battered made the attack more real to people than the situation with Sheen’s wife and other women whose physical scars weren’t shown.
I agree too that Sheen’s longer track record of abuse should factor in, but unfortunately hasn’t seemed to do so.
Posted 03 Feb 2010 at 6:01 pm ¶
Charles J wrote:
Thank you for this post! YES RACE HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH THIS. Charlie Sheen a well known woman beater and violent person gets a public slap on the wrist each and everytime he does something. I have heard nothing about his latest exploits since the news broke. Im still hearing Chris Brown’s name in the same context of “woman beater” and it’s been a year later.
Also, Chris Brown actually has taken action steps to make himself a better person. 1st by offering an apology publicly and privately and he has sought counseling. What has Charlie Sheen done but bask in the glow of his White-skinned privilege. I do wonder if Charlie Sheen was the complexion of George Lopez and he kept his name Carlos Estevez what would the public’s reaction be?
PS My comments are not to excuse Chris Brown or Charlie Sheen, but to highlight the racial dynamic that is being played out in both circumstances.
Posted 03 Feb 2010 at 6:36 pm ¶
RCHOUDH wrote:
Wow can Racialicious read minds because I was just thinking last week about the media’s unequal treatment depicting famous domestic abusers, except that instead of comparing Chris Brown to Charlie Sheen, I was comparing Chris Brown to Jonathan Rhys-Meyers!
I already mentioned in another post here earlier about Rhys-Meyers’ run in with the law after his girlfriend accused him of hitting her. I was surprised to find that not many individuals knew about this unfortunate incident involving him and so I wondered why that was. I surmised that it was due to the following reasons that Rhys-Meyers doesn’t have the stigma of being a domestic abuser attached to him the way Brown has (and like other posters have already mentioned it is wrong for the media to play double standards and demonize one abuser over others when they all deserve to be demonized and ostracized from Hollywood). The reasons I think Rhys-Meyers’ domestic incident goes unnoticed:
1) He’s not that famous in Hollywood other than a few cable miniseries and Bend it like Beckham and now maybe Paris with Love.
2) His girlfriend is not famous in the US (but may she is in the UK as she is said to be an heiress) just like Sheen’s wife.
3). He is white while his girlfriend was not (British Asian).
The fact that he along with Sheen still gets steady work in Hollywood is terrible and reeks of white privilege. Like Brown they deserve to be shunned by everyone for the criminals they are.
Posted 03 Feb 2010 at 6:52 pm ¶
BSK wrote:
I think age and career also play parts in this, as it intersects with race. Black people are scary enough. But a young black R&B performer? OMG, sound the alarm!
For instance, I doubt Danny Glover (to pick a random, older black celeb) would get the same treatment as Brown did. He’s older and is an actor, two things that make him seem less threatening. White, mainstream America might be afraid of his blackness, but they generally think better of him because of his age and don’t think that acting is the scourge of society. They certainly are afraid of young, black men in particular, especially if they are associated with an industry that is so maligned to begin with.
Posted 03 Feb 2010 at 7:28 pm ¶
moth wrote:
@ Nadra – THANK YOU for bringing this up!
@Lena – so maybe we shouldn’t worry about racial disparities in arrests, sentencing, or the death penalty either…
Posted 03 Feb 2010 at 8:21 pm ¶
Tiffany wrote:
Both of them were wrong for their actions at the end of the day.
Posted 03 Feb 2010 at 9:06 pm ¶
Little Bee wrote:
@Lena- I feel that much of what not_yet has noted is being misconstrued. Even if feminists are primarily concerned with the rights of women as you put it then it would still be in their best interests to understand why abuse occurs in order to prevent it. Why and how are we determining that young boys who witness abuse are not as deeply affected as the women who experience it? Though there may not be any physical harm there is emotional scarring and the possibility of internalizing strong feelings of anger or hurt that can later manifest as violence. If you care about women, you also have to care about the effects of abuse on boys because domestic violence is cyclical. To an extent prevention depends on our ability to protect BOTH women and the young boys in the background looking on. It’s not about prioritizing the needs of women over young boys as you imply- they are both victimized by abuse and are deserving of our attention.
Also, I feel that you’re downplaying what Nadra is saying about differences in racial treatment by declaring that such views are unlikely to change in our society. You’re basically saying, “So what?” in response to her argument, which I personally see as counterproductive. I think it’s important that people like Nadra do raise these issues if we have any hope at all of challenging hegemony in the West.
Posted 03 Feb 2010 at 9:18 pm ¶
Ginsu Shark wrote:
In addition to the stuff you listed, I wonder if their public image has something to do with it. Brown’s image was apparently squeaky-clean until the incident broke, while Sheen’s well-known as a “bad boy” (read: violent ass), which makes any violence the latter commits much less surprising…
Posted 03 Feb 2010 at 10:14 pm ¶
BSK wrote:
Ginsu-
Good point. I’m not all that familiar with Chris Brown so I didn’t know his rep. That also lends itself to the general love America has for tearing down the good guy and the particular love America has for tearing down the good guy of color. Need we revist the media/public response to Tiger?
Posted 03 Feb 2010 at 10:51 pm ¶
7thangel wrote:
josh brolin has been charged twice for battering diane lane and twice she’s gone back to him. the media barely made a blip while at the same time the were also digging into rihanna when folks thought she was going to take brown back.
christian slater not only beat and threatened his wife/girlfriend while high on heroin he also assaulted the cops, 9real assault not the stuff cops tack on when you look at them the wrong way while black/latino. barely a blip. allowed to redeem himself.
this is nothing new
Posted 03 Feb 2010 at 11:05 pm ¶
manya wrote:
guys –
While neither (or any, for that matter) case of domestic violence is acceptable, I think this case is much more about the psychology of images and strength in making people empathize, than about race.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but no images of Sheen’s wife were posted. Rihanna’s was everywhere, and the extent of the abuse was visibly appalling. Black eye, broken lip, smashed nose – we’ve all seen it. It was hard to look at those photographs and not imagine how violent, strong and UNFORGIVABLE Chris Brown’s attack was. Images are very powerful in that way. While I don’t disagree that some racism must be at play, we must acknowledge the power of the photos that were leaked in Chris Brown’s case.
In Charlie’s case, we do know he has a history of domestic abuse. But we also know how easy it can be to dismiss a problem we can’t see, can’t feel.
Again, I want to make clear that no level of domestic violence is okay. But what I’m saying is that if pictures of a broken, battered and bleeding Brooke Meuller had been plastered everywhere, no one would be forgiving Charlie Sheen either.
Posted 04 Feb 2010 at 12:01 am ¶
eh wrote:
I read the gossip blogs a lot, and it seems like one of the reasons Sheen isn’t getting hit as hard is that a lot of people regard his current wife as a gold digger. There doesn’t seem to be as much sympathy out there because of the very public divorce that he had w/ Denise Richards, and all of the allegation in the divorce records. Though I agree race plays a role to a certain extent, but so does class and status. I think because Rhianna has as high (if not higher) status that Brown, and because she didn’t have a reputation of being a bad girl or a “crazy” girl, people were more willing to be sympathetic. Sadly, society still seems to judge the victims, Sigh.
Posted 04 Feb 2010 at 12:33 am ¶
ChaoticDiva wrote:
Bet you if Charlie Sheen actually accepted his Mexican heritage, it would probably be different.
But yes, I agree. Chris Brown apologized, Charlie Sheen did not. Where’s the fairness.
People can be sickening at times.
Posted 04 Feb 2010 at 2:13 am ¶
RCHOUDH wrote:
I agree that images made the difference in both cases (with Rhihanna’s battered image floating around cyberspace, thereby garnering sympathy for her). But I also see that as racially/class motivated. It was racially motivated because TMZ was out to demonize Brown from the get go. Other (white) abusers didn’t have to deal with such sadistic motivation from TMZ that’s why pictures of their battered wives/girlfriends aren’t floating around the web (although I’m sure if TMZ could get ahold of Rhihanna’s battered image there’s no reason why they cannot get that of other victims, so I feel the only reason they didn’t get other images is because they didn’t want to.
The class-based motivation behind getting Rhihanna’s image is that she’s a famous victim and TMZ wanted to satisfy people’s morbid curiosity in seeing how a battered woman who’s also a famous pop singer looked like. People don’t know or care enough about the other victims to want to see how their abuse looked like (although if there was genuine sympathy behind it all, people should have been outraged at all forms of abuse without having to see what it looked like kind of like being anti war without having to see gruesome images of war first). So I think race/class still plays a large part behind this disparate treatment of abusers.
Posted 04 Feb 2010 at 4:44 am ¶
Shannon wrote:
My friends and I have been discussing the blatant double standard regarding these two since the incident with Charlie Sheen occured. This is clearly a result of racist double standards. If one is a villian than both of them should be.
Posted 04 Feb 2010 at 7:32 am ¶
pia wrote:
I too noticed the racial leaning of the public in regards to this issue of domestic violence regarding Chris Brown and Charlie Sheen.
I think fame and race made a big impact in this situation. The fact that Rihanna and Chris Brown, where deemed the next Jay-Z and Beyonce music power couple of the next generation, played apart in the coverage. I think because Chris was marketed as the “boy next door” kind of guy, it was more damaging to his image. If this happened to Lil Wayne, nobody would have really batted an eye. There is a video on youtube of Gucci Mane (a rapper) publicly assaulting a woman and he still has throngs of fans who support him. Furthermore, Tupac was charged with assisting in a rape of a woman and came out selling more album after his stint in jail. He is still celebrated by all types of people for his “realness”.
I personally feel that Chris is able to redeem himself because of his age and his history of discussing the domestic violence he saw in his home in interviews he gave at the ages of 15-17. Even though he was unsuccessful in preventing the violence he did not want to perpetuate on Feb. 8, I hope after his court-mandated counseling he continues therapy to deal with his own childhood trauma of violence. Just as I hope Rihanna goes to therapy to deal with her childhood trauma and her encounters of violence ( Court documents cited she slapped Chris in the middle of a verbal dispute in the past. She also gave an interview in Giant magazine describing she assaulted one of her brothers with a glass object which broke on impact and caused him to get several stitches for his injury).
I find more fault with Charlie Sheen because he is older and he has had a HISTORY of sexually and physically assaulting women, patronizing illegal prostitution, along with his drug/alcohol abuse. HE TRULY SHOULD KNOW BETTER and has been given chance after chance to reform himself.
I must say that I worked for a domestic violence agency for 5 years and remember receiving numerous calls from women and men about wanting to stop the DV they experienced in their own relationships.
So I personally don’t ascribe to the philosophy that all abusers should be casted in a trash can and are unredeemable. There are stories of reformed abusers, such as Kevin Powell, the brotha in the first season of the Real World. In one of his essay, http://www.kevinpowell.net/ending-violence-against-women.php , he described how he assaulted and threatened 4 women between 1987-1991 and how he had to have a rebirth of mindstate to address his own issues.
Posted 04 Feb 2010 at 10:37 am ¶
ladydai wrote:
Although I view both of them as dirt bags, I think the Chris Brown and Rihanna scandal was finally an acknowledgment that black women could actually be battered.
Usually when black men are accused of beating their girl friends or wives who happen to be black, they get sympathy. No one cares about the black woman. The only I usually here is the question, ” what did she do to make him hit her?”
You guys are pointing out TMZ but I don’t think they are reflecting the reality of a lot of blacks. If you go to some of the other sites, you’ll see comments such as, “she’s not really one of us” “She probably provoked him” and many more.
Posted 04 Feb 2010 at 11:32 am ¶
ladydai wrote:
Excuse me, I meant “hear”
Posted 04 Feb 2010 at 11:34 am ¶
Sean wrote:
This is the first I’ve heard about this particular incident involving Charlie Sheen, but I can’t say I’m surprised. This is a man who friggin’ SHOT someone in a domestic dispute. It certainly plays into the narrative of the media behaving like one big country club.
It reminds me of the disparity of treatment by the media between David Letterman and Tiger Woods. Same transgression, different spin. Letterman comes out on his show and apologizes and all is forgiven. He’s human. He’s real. He gets our sympathy. Woods gets kissed in the face with a nine-iron and it’s “justified.”
Woods eventually lost millions in endorsements. If Letterman lost a single sponsor, I certainly hadn’t heard about it. Heck, how many people are still talking about the Letterman incident?
Charlie Sheen is certainly not the only poster child for white privilege. Figure in Paris Hilton and George W. Bush too.
Posted 04 Feb 2010 at 12:08 pm ¶
SarahNicole wrote:
Just a corrective: Martin Sheen’s father was from Spain, not Mexico. So while he’s Hispanic/Latino (although he has Irish citizenship thanks to his mother), he’s not Mexican-American at all.
Posted 04 Feb 2010 at 2:05 pm ¶
pololly wrote:
Race has got something to do with it but lets clear something up – Chris Brown did not apologize for beating Rihanna. He fumbled around refusing to take responsibility for a couple of interviews and claimed he didn’t remember what happened and then tried to blame her, he went jet skiing and was seen partying and clubbing with other women while he was meant to be ‘repentant’, cheered in the court when he was given his ‘light sentence’, criticised other black people for not supporting him (cough Oprah cough). He then immediately went on a tour thanking his loyal fans for ’supporting him’ and ‘not being haters’.
In other words he wasn’t sorry and isn’t sorry.
As someone who immediately didn’t jump to ‘villifying’ Chris Brown when the attack was still alleged and had never heard his music and wasn’t biased, he presented himself as a classless amoral pos.
Also there seems to be a contradiction in many people’s points. How can the media be villifying him for being ‘black and urban’ when he was black and urban before and had such a good guy image? His clothes haven’t changes, his accent hasn’t changed – in fact I was shocked when I finally saw him (I’d never heard his music before the attack) and I just thought he was a lighter skinned, baby faced, slightly more marketable Usher wannabe. I couldn’t get how he had this Disney, butter won’t melt reputation that he had! As far as I could see, he was a 20 year old black guy doing urban music in urban clothes but everyone was treating him and Rihanna like the great ‘all American’ love story. In that sense, either he was transcending race or the media were doing something right. They were being marketed to the same kids who are into Twilight. Their reputation was very carefully managed and he can’t come back from that. I’m not sure that he should be able to. It’s like a Taylor Swift sex tape – she would be done.
Charlie Sheen plays a mysogynistic a-hole in all of his TV stuff anyway and has always been one. His audience is way older (who under 40 can watch 2 1/2 men? It’s so crappy). Like Sean Penn. It’s sounds awful but I’ve always joked that I like Sean Penn *because* he hit Madonna. Frankly, post David Banda + Mercy’s adoption, I’ve wished many a time I could hit her myself. But Sean Penn has cultivated an angry image for years and it’s not shocking. But if Jake Gyllenhall hit his next girlfriend I’d be stunned.
Posted 05 Feb 2010 at 9:30 am ¶
Maegan wrote:
Umm he did actually apologize for what he did and he wanted to take responsibility from the beginning he never tried to blame her. I dont know how he was trying to blame when he was saying Im taking full responsibility for my actions.
Alot of people forget that rihanna was with him when he was riding the jet skis she was there with all of her friends and family. So he probably was a little happy about the fact he got his girlfriend back. I would rather see him on a jet ski then him turning into a alcoholic or drug addict. People wont be happy until he tries to kill himself.
I also hate that people have to make excuses to care about dv victims. Oh well her picture was never released or she isnt as famous as rihanna. It should not matter if you stand for something stand for it on all counts. Charlie is a grown ass man chris brown was a teenager at the time.
Posted 06 Feb 2010 at 12:13 pm ¶
violet wrote:
And…Black and White(and other)Sisters are STILL getting their asses kicked and beaten and MURDERED!
Is the Racist press about the devaluation of Black women? Or Racism towards Black men?
Methinks the former!
Posted 06 Feb 2010 at 12:50 pm ¶
not_yet wrote:
@ Lena
Little Bee summarized my views perfectly. We can’t silo our concerns and really expect change. We are all interconnected. It’s much more fruitful to prevent abuse than to be a comfort post abuse.
The reasons why abuse develops is far more complicated than you seem to suggest. I am personally familiar with cases where the violence is initiated by either gender. Nonetheless, all of this is unneccessary when you develop certain skills about human respect and conflict resolution. We can’t just tell women not to date possible abusers. We need to help young men not become them in the first place.
Posted 07 Feb 2010 at 12:27 pm ¶
Natalie wrote:
It’s sounds awful but I’ve always joked that I like Sean Penn *because* he hit Madonna. Frankly, post David Banda + Mercy’s adoption, I’ve wished many a time I could hit her myself.
I find it really disgusting that in a thread about domestic violence you are joking about violence and claiming some women deserve it.
I absolutely think there’s a racist element at work here, but for once I’d like to see the white guy being treated like the the black guy. It seems like the only time a woman has a chance at getting her abuser or rapist prosecuted is if he’s a man of color. But I think the solution to that problem is to successfully prosecute white men, not to let men of color off the hook.
For all this talk of “vilification” let’s remember that the only person who turned Chris Brown into a villain was Chris Brown when he beat the shit out of his girlfriend.
He’s not the victim–Rihanna is.
Posted 07 Feb 2010 at 1:38 pm ¶
Brooke wrote:
@Sean, re the Letterman and Tiger Woods comparison – Letterman was not married when he had his – I don’t even know what they were, flings? Relationships? Employees with benefits? I’m not sure if he was single or dating his future wife at the time, but that’s probably part of the reason he wasn’t vilified like Tiger was. On the other hand, the media should have paid more attention to whether he improperly used his position as an employer to get people to sleep with him. Most people seemed way too content to say, “Two single adults getting it on? Not my business.”
Posted 07 Feb 2010 at 2:59 pm ¶
Candace wrote:
@ notyet:
Isn’t it funny that “we shouldn’t silo our concerns” always gets directed at WoC. We are continually asked to suck up all kinds of bullshit in the name of saving our menfolk from racism.
As a WoC and abuse survivor, fuck that noise. You know what isn’t “helpful”? Throwing pity parties for men of any color who beat on women. This “what about the menz” shit is old and has been for a very long time.
Posted 08 Feb 2010 at 12:24 pm ¶