Tuesday's Good Morning America appearance should have been a stop on Chris Brown's journey toward some well-earned reputation recovery. Now it's just another reason the narrative surrounding him and his career may always be focused on his anger.
By now you've heard reports that Brown flew into a fit of rage after his interview with GMA's Robin Roberts — allegedly taking out his aggression on a window facing Times Square. Already, some of Brown's overzealous fans are roasting Roberts — who says his reps prescreened her questions — for pestering Breezy about his past, and making up every excuse they can to rationalize his irrational actions. Clearly, that dressing room window he shattered got in the way of his temper tantrum, but at what point will Brown decide to stop standing in the way of his own personal growth?
In response to his GMA behavior, Brown tweeted — and subsequently deleted — the following message to his many followers: "I'm so over people bringing this past s**t up!!! Yet we praise Charlie Sheen and other celebs for [their] bulls**t." To his credit, he's got a point.
Even though celebrity train-wreck enthusiasts continue to butcher the definition of "winning," the fact remains that Sheen has a long-standing history of violence against women and has never truly suffered professionally because of it.
When he appeared on CNN's Piers Morgan Tonight earlier this month, Sheen coldly answered the question about whether or not he's hit a woman with, "No, I have not. Women are not to be hit. They are to be hugged and caressed." Morgan neglected to follow up with, "Your version of caressing sometimes results in head injuries."
So Brown's tweet has some validity to it. He could bring Jesus onstage at his next concert and teach him how to Dougie, and his reputation would still be tainted in the eyes of many. Meanwhile, Sheen could spit on Mary Magdalene on The View and go on to take more meetings with Fox.
This, of course, is not at all surprising, given that Michael Jackson had to die before he could net good press again after he was acquitted of child-molestation charges. By contrast, Roman Polanski was actually convicted of many of the very things Jackson was accused of, but all he had to do was move to France to be embraced once again by much of the mainstream press.
Many, rightly, don't find this fair. It's obvious that Brown is among them. Unfortunately, life isn't fair, and one would think that a millionaire, of all people, would realize that. We can't often control what life hands us, but our real power lies in our reaction to whatever we're dealt. It's time that Brown accepts what he's done and the reality that he'll never fully be able to escape it.
Yes, a Sheen can get away with far more than a Brown can, but both noted domestic abusers are fortunate enough to be part of a society that doesn't seem to respect women enough to take domestic violence seriously. Brown beat up one of the world's biggest pop stars, and in two years he has gone on to once again become a radio staple and book high-profile gigs like Good Morning America and Dancing With the Stars. If he doesn't want to talk about Rihanna anymore, he should hire a publicist who will make sure that stops happening.
But should it happen anyway, he ought to learn how to deal with it. He looked so visibly bothered by Roberts' line of questioning that even I felt uncomfortable watching it. There's a better way to handle the situation, and if there's anyone he could look to for guidance, that person is the subject of the questions that irk him so.
Recently, Rihanna herself seemed bothered when a writer for Fabulous magazine tried to goad her into a conversation about Brown. The editor made note of how she flatly said, "You obviously want to talk about Chris Brown; I don't."
And there it is. Maybe Brown couldn't get away with conveying that sentiment in that strong a tone, but he's good-looking, with big, white teeth. All he has to do in the future is smile and say he's moved on. Maybe the reason he can't say it is that he hasn't truly done that. When I watched Brown sob during his tribute to Michael Jackson at the 2010 BET Awards, I felt bad for him and wanted to root for his success. These days, I wonder if there were other reasons he was too choked up to finish his performance of "Man in the Mirror."
His rabidly loyal fans can lay blame with other people, but it won't change the fact that throwing a chair is immature and petty — not to mention a potential violation of his probation.
The title of Brown's new album, F.A.M.E., is a dual acronym for "Forgiving All My Enemies" and "Fans Are My Everything." Fans are indeed everything, including enablers of his bad behavior. Brown may have enemies, but his biggest enemy continues to be himself.
Michael Arceneaux is a Houston-bred, Howard-educated writer currently based in Los Angeles. You can read more of his work on his site. Follow him on Twitter.
Michael Arceneaux hails from Houston, lives in Harlem and praises Beyoncé’s name wherever he goes. Follow him on Twitter.