Rhianna and Chris Brown: How their reunion effects her career

Several years ago the world was shocked when pictures of a bruised and beaten Rhianna went viral. The damage allegedly caused by then boyfriend singer Chris Brown, was the result of a fight in a car. Rhianna flagged down an oncoming car while walking barefoot in people’s yards after escaping Brown. The police photographed her injuries and a trial was soon underway. A restraining order was passed to keep Brown away from Rhianna and the two ceased contact for a period of time. During their separation, rumors that they were back together were constantly in the media. Eventually, Rhianna dropped the restraining order and resumed contact with Brown.

            While Rhianna’s career was soaring during this time, Brown’s was failing. He did his mandated community service and anger management courses, but he still had outbursts of violent behavior such as throwing chairs out of Good Morning America windows on to the street below and getting into fights at clubs. More recent behavior shows that now, years later, Rhianna is still very close with Brown even though he continues his erratic behavior.

            They recently recorded a song together called “Ain’t Nobody’s Business” about whether or not they are back together. The answer, however, has become obvious. Rhianna did an interview with Oprah where she confessed she would always love Brown. Shortly after that, pictures of the couple were released on their personal Instagram accounts showing them smoking marijuana and spending the holidays together. The pair is officially back together, attending award shows together and flaunting their relationship to the public and the paparazzi. Since the pair has gotten back together, Brown’s community service records have come under fire as possibly false, and he has gotten into yet another club fight.

            What does this mean for Rhianna? As a woman going back to an abusive man, she has been heavily criticized for the image she is displaying to people, especially young girls, who look up to her. People are mad at her, criticizing her choices and telling her she is a bad person. Companies that have recently done deals with Rhianna, such as MAC Cosmetics, are being questioned as to what they think about signing her since she has gone back to Brown. On her last birthday, a magazine company tweeted her saying, “Be safe.”

            Oddly enough, Brown’s career now seems to be doing slightly better after his reunion with the star. While it cannot be denied that Brown is a talented singer and dancer, the fact that he is a violent, dangerous, and abusive person seems to have faded into the background. He is generally described as rude and a mean person, but people have turned to inappropriate jokes to deal with his image instead of flat out boycotting his music or products. It seems as if no one is taking a stand against him.

            It had to be difficult for Rhianna to go through this with the world watching her. She gave fans hope though when on her second to last album she released songs about women empowerment and even one about abuse. Her music transitioned from dance hits to songs about darker, more serious matters. Many saw her more violent image as a coping mechanism. Rhianna’s song “Man Down” is the story of a woman who shoots a man who touched her inappropriately (it is implied that the woman is raped).vSome of the lyrics are, “

I didn’t mean to end his life

I know it wasn't right

I can't even sleep at night

Can't get it off my mind

I need to get out of sight

Before I end up behind bars

What started out as a simple altercation

Turned into a real sticky situation

Me just thinking on the time that I'm facing

Makes me wanna cry

Cause I didn't mean to hurt him

Could've been somebody's son

And I took his heart when

I pulled out that gun

Oh mama mama mama

I just shot a man down

In central station

In front of a big ol' crowd

Oh Why Oh Why

Oh mama mama mama

I just shot a man down

In central station”

From songs like this, listeners can see that Rhianna was attempting to deal with her situation with Brown in some sort of manner, but her reunion with him shows that she may be a victim of battered woman syndrome. If Brown had released a song about their breakup so close to the event, it certainly wouldn’t have been seen as a coping mechanism, but instead most likely a disrespectful jab at women.

            Rhianna confessed to Oprah that she will always love Brown, and this may be an indicator that she needs help. After the attack, Rhianna’s music became considerably darker and included a higher sexual content than before. She seems to identify with the “bad” persona, making her instagram name “badgirlriri” and posting pictures of her smoking marijuana and putting herself in dangerous situations, namely being around Brown.

            The gender roles of these two stars have to be considered when looking at the situation. Chris Brown is viewed as a bad boy, and a disrespectful person. He should be called a violent, dangerous, manipulative man. He even has a tattoo of a battered woman’s face on his neck. Rhianna is viewed as a tough, “I’ll do what I want” personality and in many eyes as a girl making a mistake by going back to Brown. She should be looked at as a woman making a dangerous decision and setting a bad example for others while opening herself up to abuse and manipulation.

            If a woman hit a man, many would say she is tough or at worst crazy. The term “abusive” would be less likely to come up. When a man hits a woman, abusive is one of the first terms brought up.

            Brown has been seen as “troubled” but still commercially appealing. Many women still love him and buy his albums. Female artists have a much harder time coming back into the lime light after a public fall out (think Britney Spears). His career was failing, but he turned it around with some new lyrics and impressive dance moves.

            Why is Brown’s career still thriving? One argument is that he is a man. Male figures are not viewed as much as role models in the hiphop/rap industry as women are in the pop industry. If Rhianna had a melt down after this happened, got arrested, or assaulted someone herself she would be blamed as a bad role model driven to the edge by fame. Brown gets away with being a “bad boy” and isn’t seen as any sort of model. While part of this is furthered by the stigma of rap and r&b, it must also be noted that those genres are male dominated.

            The female and male entertainer models in today’s society are stricter than one would think. Rhianna is taking a risk by singing about abuse and sexuality, and Brown is using her star to reinforce his own fallen fame. The fact that the wrong person is being picked on in this union (Rhianna) and that people are actually rooting for this relationship to last sheds a disturbing light on gender roles when it comes to fame.

            There is an entire group of people out there posting blogs and pictures rooting for “Chrisanna” (their celebrity couple name) to make love last. Some ignorant people are comparing their love story to Romeo and Juliet. What they don’t seem to realize is that Romeo and Juliet is a  tragedy in which six people, including the lovers, die. Law and Order, Special Victims Unit, just did an episode that was blatantly based on the stars relationship. In all of these models, the woman is just so overcome with her love for the bad boy that she is unable to do the right thing. It would take someone like Rhianna to come out and use her star power for a good cause, staying away from Brown, to end the stigma of a helpless, love-torn woman. Until a prominent female figure takes that step, it may be easier for women to fall back into abusive relationships.