Chris Brown Smiles His Way Through MTV Interview?
Chris Brown's second television interview since his felony assault on Rihanna will air on MTV Friday at 6 p.m. ET/PT.
The candid sit down with MTV personality Sway was
strategically timed to broadcast one day after an interview clip of Rihanna ran on "Good Morning America."
In her first post-incident television interview, Rihanna said she was "embarrassed" that she chose to be in a relationship with someone like Chris, and added that continuing the association sent the wrong message to the girls who looked up to her.
Rihanna's disposition was somber. She appeared to be on the verge of crying in a few instances.
Chris, however, seemed to be in a more lighthearted mood in the three video clips Yahoo! TV received from MTV.
When you think back
to that night, what are your thoughts?
It's hard hearing sincerity in Chris' response because there
is a prominent smirk on his face. He does admit to thinking, "Why did it
happen?" and "What was I thinking?" But I feel like he's describing a funny,
embarrassing moment, not a brutal beating that resulted in him getting
sentenced to five years of probation and an order to stay away from his victim.
He quickly changes the focus to getting past the ordeal.
What do you think
your public perception is?
There is no doubt that Chris loves his fans that have
supported him throughout the backlash. I would expect him to smile and be happy
when speaking about them. But I'm having trouble reading his expression when
talking about the non-supporters. He seemed surprised that there are some
people who don't want to see him do anything and others who want to see him in
jail.
Maybe what he is displaying is gallows humor? Maybe he's so troubled by everything that has transpired that he laughs instead of cries? Many comedians subscribe to this outlook on life.
But I'm not convinced. I'm feeling as though he thinks that everyone should get over it, and accept that he just made a mistake for which he has apologized. By the way, he's young and according to his and his mother's accounts conveyed on the September Larry King interview, he has never been involved in anything like this before.
He needs to put his energy into making it clear that he is remorseful and grateful that he is not in jail.
What are some of the
worse things someone has said to you in public?
This is the worst of the three clips. Chris looks as though
he is enjoying rattling off the list of insults passerby have thrown at
him-"woman beater," "you suck," "I hate you," "you're stupid," "oh, don't get
too close, he might punch you in the face." He dismisses the name calling as
"ignorant," implying that the comments could not be further from the truth. His
Colgate smile couldn't be bigger.
I can somewhat relate to this. Whenever I have been falsely accused of something, I found it funny because the accusation was so out of character. But Chris isn't falsely accused. I don't think Chris is a horrible person because of this serious mistake. I do think that he can move past it. But he needs to understand that the verbal attacks and the negative public perception he is experiencing are not baseless. If he wants to regain his clean cut image, he is going to have to earn it back.
There are people who have done less who have lost everything-their families, freedom, and careers. Chris did lose his girlfriend and tarnish his image, but his album is still coming. Actually, the release date for "Graffiti" is December 8, a week earlier than originally scheduled. He's kicking off his tour. His throngs of female fans are still in his corner.
Chris' world is not over. He is not doing too bad. Maybe that's in the back of his head and behind his smile.
He's not remorseful; you support that, you don't get it. When he does it again, beats a woman, maybe then you'll start to see all of his comments are about him, not what he put Rihanna through.
If you want to support him, call him on his %$#*! Let him know he screwed up. He thinks there are two sides to this and so do many of you. You're wrong. The only side you need to know about is the "he hit her" side. Get it? Probably not.