Chris Brown Apologizes | The SendMe Stage

July 22, 2009
Chris Brown Apologizes

On July 20, 2009, Chris Brown made a public apology video to Rihanna and to his fans.

In early March, Brown was charged with assaulting his then-girlfriend, Rihanna. She had cuts and bruises all over her body; the pictures of the aftermath spread like wildfire all over the internet, making Chris Brown one of the most disliked people in the country (at the time). Over the last five months, Brown has stayed out of the limelight and hasn’t spoken to anyone about what happened. In the video, he claims his lawyers advised him against speaking to outside parties.

Is this video apology enough to keep his career afloat? He says what he did was “inexcusable” and that his “mother and spiritual teachers” taught him to know better. He goes on to say that he will do “everything in [his] power to make sure that it never happens again.” The problem with a statement like that is that once is enough to lose fans forever.

Though he initially entered a plea of “Not Guilty,” on June 22, 2009, Brown pleaded guilty to a felony. He received a deal, consisting of community service labor and probation for five years (a light sentence for a felony). He was also ordered to seek counseling to deal with anger issues. He is set to be formally sentenced in a few weeks, on August 5.

It’s probably good that he finally came out with a statement, though. It shows that he is willing to accept responsibility for his actions, or at least admit to doing something he shouldn’t have done. Denial usually doesn’t work out well. (Are you listening, R. Kelly?)

What’s sad is that Brown is only 20 and had a promising career ahead of him. Now everything is up in the air, and whether or not the majority of his fans will stick with him. He is set to release a new album, Graffiti, sometime this year. We’ll see what happens!

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