Four years ago, the singer Chris Brown pleaded guilty to felony assault after brutally beating his girlfriend at the time, the pop star Rihanna. Now, the two seem to be back together — and though some people see it as a story of true love and forgiveness, many worry about the example Rihanna is setting in a case that, as one professor said, “defined dating and domestic violence for the hip-hop generation.”
What is your opinion? Is this none of our business? What message do you think it sends to young people? Why?
In “Stormy Relationship, Forgiving Followers,” Ben Sisario writes:
“Rihanna’s Love Has Given Chris Brown Confidence to Boost Career,” said the gossip site Hollywoodlife.com on April 21 amid seesaw reports around the Web about whether the two had split up. The latest consensus? Still together. (“How can u doubt love,” one fan asked on Twitter after an interview in the April issue of Elle UK in which Rihanna suggested she may want to have children with Mr. Brown.)Students: Tell us …
The attention was not always so positive. Four years ago, Mr. Brown’s career as a boy-next-door pop star seemed to come to a sudden end when he was charged in the brutal beating of Rihanna. Excoriated by every sector of the media, he pleaded guilty to felony assault and was given five years of probation.
But now Rihanna, 25, has publicly embraced the boyfriend who once abused her, creating perhaps the most polarizing spectacle in pop culture. To their fans, the couple represent a story of forgiveness and happy endings. To a ravenous celebrity news media, their every affectionate tweet or late-night indiscretion is reliable hot copy. And to many others, Rihanna’s decision has inspired fear and worry about the example she is setting in what has become the signal domestic abuse case of the social media age.
“This is the case that has defined dating and domestic violence for the hip-hop generation,” said Salamishah Tillet, an assistant professor of English at the University of Pennsylvania and a co-founder of A Long Walk Home, a support group for female victims of physical abuse.
… Rihanna confirmed their full reconciliation in a Feb. 14 Rolling Stone cover article, in which she seemed to brace for criticism.
“Even if it’s a mistake, it’s my mistake,” she said. “I can handle it.”
- What do you think of Rihanna’s decision? Why?
- What message do you think the history of this relationship sends to young people? Why?
- Does Rihanna, one of the most successful women in pop, have a responsibility to set a good example for her fans, or is this none of our business?
- Do you think this couple can go on to have a healthy relationship? Can Chris Brown change? Or do you agree with the executive director of Sanctuary for Families, who says the couple’s reconciliation sends a “fantasy message to young girls” that conflicts with reality?
- How much, in general, do you think the actions of famous people influence you? Your peers? Why
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