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| Picture c/o Rihanna's Twitter |
Recently Jason Lipshutz of Billboard wrote an
open letter to Rihanna asking her to publicly denounce Chris Brown. Lipshutz argues that Rihanna has shrugged off the responsibility of being a role model and has refused to tell Chris Brown to "fuck off." I want to give her a little more credit. In an
interview with Barbara Walters in 2009 Rihanna explained that her decision to reconcile with Brown after the assault was "selfish":
"Even if Chris never hit me again, who is to say that their boyfriend won't? Who's to say that they won't kill these girls? These are young girls, and I just didn't realize how much of an impact I had on these girls' lives until that happened."
I agree that it would do a lot of good if Rihanna became an advocate for domestic violence, as she has a great platform to reach thousands of battered women. At the end of the day however, I believe that it's her choice to make. What I don't agree with is her response to Lipshutz's letter:
"Go head talk shit…its all in da paper!!! Lemme grab my dick while ya sit on top!!!"
Rihanna's choice to attack a legitimate suggestion while still refusing to deny those Chris Brown rumors suggests she has forgotten about those girls whose lives she has an impact on. Rihanna can forgive Chris Brown, but she needs to do it in a way that acknowledges how terrible his behavior was and
still is. Her refusal is particularly distressing considering
this.
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| Picture c/o People.com |
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| Picture c/o People.com |
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| Picture c/o People.com |
