cherokeecharles

[cherokeecharles]

#Hottakes #11: White Mediocrity at The Grammy’s Isn’t a Surprise Anymore.

It wouldn’t be award season if we weren’t talking about white mediocrity being rewarded or people being surprised that it was awarded. The never-ending saga of ‘I can’t believe Taylor won over [insert great black artist here]’ is now plaguing my timeline for the time being and what better way to break my silence?

During my writing hiatus, I went on an inspiration scavenger hunt—poking around pop culture, TV, music, and yes, even sports (times are tough, sisters). Yet, nothing sparked that writing flame. Then came the Grammys buzz, the usual drill: nominations, snubs, and the betting game of who should win versus who will win. We all would like to think of ourselves as Grammy psychics to some degree. So, imagine my surprise at the post-Grammys shockwave. Why the gasps for the winners? Why the faux shock when black artists get the snub? And seriously, why keep submitting music if it's playing hide-and-seek with recognition? It's like sending your resume to a job that never calls back—maybe it's time to rethink the application process, huh?

Jay-Z delivered a powerful speech while receiving his honoree Hip Hop award. Rather than talking about his accomplishment he went on to give a rant about his wife, Beyoncé, being the most awarded Grammy winner yet always falling short of her peers of winning the coveted Record of the Year award. The speech was compelling and it reflected what many of us said for years. I would’ve been moved by the speech if I knew they weren’t going to keep submitting their music to be snubbed yearly. The speech reflected all of my thoughts of Beyoncé being categorically snubbed every year for that award that we know is likely missing from her résumé. However, I don’t like the fact that it’s being deemed that she’s missing this one thing from greatness. Beyoncé is great on her own and her career, music, and work ethic back up that claim. I think that it’s unfair that her ‘shortcoming’ amounted to an award where the line is always moving.

The award show progressed, and we’re all left to simmer with Jay-Z's speech about snubbing at the Grammys. The end of the award show comes around, and the last and biggest award is Album of the Year. The album of the year award was presented by the one and only Celine Dion. The Album of the Year award is a coveted award, it’s essentially the album that shaped the year we just went through, and the cultural and social impact of said album are factors into who gets the win, or so I thought. The category for album of the year was groundbreaking on its own because this is the first time it has ever had seven of the eight nominations be women. The category on its own with poised for someone who showed great artistry through one album that spoke to the public, and to the Grammy voters. Imagine the lack of surprise on my face when Taylor Swift won. Taylor Swift’s album Midnights won the most desired award beating out SZA’s SOS, Miley Cyrus’ Endless Summer, Janelle Monae’s Age of Pleasure, etc. This Album of the Year award made Taylor Swift the most winningest recipient of the award receiving the most nominations and win in this category.

The aftermath was a storm of criticism that hit Taylor Swift like a hurricane. From her award-acceptance antics to dropping her album bombshell mid-show and dragging poor Lana Del Rey on stage, Swift's behavior was undeniably tacky. But let's not kid ourselves—the uproar wasn't just about her manners. It was the fact that she clinched the Grammys' holy grail, becoming the all-time winningest. Viewers collectively winced, wondering why Taylor got the crown instead of, say, SZA. We act shocked, but really, we've read the exposés, pondered the think pieces, and still tune in annually. Artists keep submitting, black artists keep getting snubbed. If Taylor's the poster child for white mediocrity, why do we willingly sign up for this annual masochism? It's like déjà vu with a side of irony.

I'm not exactly Taylor Swift's number-one fan (and never will be), and I join the chorus of critics giving her the side-eye. But what grinds my gears is the phony shock everyone's putting on. Sure, there are more deserving artists out there, and it's downright ludicrous that a powerhouse like Beyoncé hasn't snagged the top prize. Yet, when does the surprise party end? We've witnessed Grammys snubs so brutal they make 2024 look like a tea party. That's why Jay-Z's speech didn't move my needle. Valid points, definitely, but let's be real, you're still cashing in those Grammy chips and probably gonna play again. Our beloved artists secretly crave that Recording Academy nod and that's why they keep tossing their tunes into the Grammy ring. It's like a messed-up lottery where, once in a blue moon, an artist (looking at you, Zayn and The Weeknd) says, "Enough is enough!" If it's a rigged game, why keep rolling the dice? If you know the ending, why splurge on the movie ticket?

The Grammys will persist as the top accolade artists crave for artistic validation. However, it's crucial to grasp that Grammy wins don't make or break careers. Complaining without a push for change is futile. The Grammys will keep snubbing until artists stop submitting. Despite acknowledging the celebration of mediocrity, there's a glaring lack of transformative action. Perhaps, giving Grammys less power than fans and artists do is key. Even Beyoncé, the greatest artist, faces snubs. Does she need another Grammy to prove her greatness? No, because she already is. Embracing this mindset could make music more enjoyable, sans the Grammy obsession.

What do you guys think? Do you think artist should continue to submit their music to the Grammys? Do you think the Grammys are losing their credibility every year go on? What can the Grammys do to gain back the credibility?

Let me know what you think!

Until then…

Cherokee🤎✨

#hottakes #grammys #grammys 2024 #SZA #Taylor Swift #Beyoncé #Miley Cyrus #Pop Culture #snubs #black femininity #black womanhood #black pop culture #black blogger #lana del rey #olivia rodrigo

[cherokeecharles]

[cherokeecharles]

But one is a stranger, a woman she notices while she sits on a bench, gathering herself. It’s a type of woman she has never seen before, because there are no old women in Barbieland. When Barbie looks at her, she finds her beautiful and tells her so. The woman already knows. Suddenly Barbie, the fraught aspirational figure, has beheld someone she might aspire to be, and it is a radiantly content nonagenarian, reading a newspaper on a Los Angeles bench, who knows what she’s worth.

“The idea of a loving God who’s a mother, a grandmother — who looks at you and says, ‘Honey, you’re doing OK’ — is something I feel like I need and I wanted to give to other people,” Gerwig says. When it was suggested that this scene, which Gerwig calls a “transaction of grace,” might be cut for time, she remembers thinking: “If I cut that scene, I don’t know why I’m making this movie. If I don’t have that scene, I don’t know what it is or what I’ve done.”

[cherokeecharles]

What U Watchin’ #8: The Idol (2023) (lol it sucks)

While on my hiatus from posting, I’ve had some time to catch up with things in pop culture whether that be music, TV shows, or the recent gossip. The TV shows I’ve caught up on range from children’s shows that I forgot existed and current tv shows that are being heavily talked about on Twitter. The one show that was heavily anticipated by everyone whether they liked it or not was The Idol. The Idol follows the life of Jocelyn, who is recovering from a nervous breakdown that led to the cancellation of her tour. The show follows her life while she tries to reclaim her stardom and become the public’s IT girl. Along the way, she catches the eye of what seems to be a cult leader, and they just can’t seem to be away from each other.

Sounds interesting, right? I thought so too until I watched the first five minutes of the first episode. I often think of all the things that The Idol could’ve been had it been written properly and not by two porn-obsessed freaks. The idol presented an opportunity to accurately represent idols who have been exploited from their childhood, and confront the feelings of their ever-changing image as they grow up from childhood starts, and now adulthood. Jocelyn was introduced to us as she was making an album cover for her, comeback after having a mental breakdown for the public to see. The first episode progresses with seeing a glimpse into the glamour and some of the darkness that resides in the industry. We are introduced to most characters who play a pivotal role in the storyline and as the show progresses we see why Jocelyn is in this predicament.

From what I understood from the series, Jocelyn had a breakdown because of her mother's death where she spiral out of control. It seemed like her team comprised of Destiny, Xander, and Leia wanted her to succeed and get her back to the ‘People’s Princess’ they once knew and loved before the breakdown. While that seemed to be the case initially, The Weeknd’s character, Tedros, seemed to upstage Jocelyn’s storyline, and not in a good way. The show progressed and we see Jocelyn’s character slowly unravel upon keeping Tedros in her circle. Things suddenly go wrong, sudden creative direction changes, her team who are closest to her doesn’t even recognize her, opportunities vanish before her eyes, and inconsistencies in her life story. Jocelyn was a victim at the beginning of the series, but then she turns into a villain, in the most unsurprising way possible.

Without going further into the storyline in case you guys want to watch it yourselves (lol) the show was awful, to say the least. The time when the show was bearable to watch was when The Weeknd’s character wasn’t on screen, anytime his character would appear it would almost immediately decrease the quality of the show. The Weeknd’s character, Tedros, was supposed to be a cult leader and have the ability to command anyone’s attention and use his charm to get you to do anything he wants, frankly, whenever he had my attention I cringed at whatever he had to say or his physical gestures. I watched this show with my friend (brave souls, I know) and we both agreed that The Weeknd lacked the charisma to be a cult leader and relied upon his poor judgment of what a cult leader is in an attempt to pull off the character. When I first heard of the show I thought it’d be easy for him to tap into being someone charming, charismatic, and somewhat sexy due to the music he releases but I found myself looking at The Weeknd differently as an artist. He came off as sleazy, unattractive, and corny for the most part. His portrayal of Tedros kind of reminds me of what Wattpad was like back in 2013, a 16-year-old girl, writing her fantasy about what a dominant man is while not knowing or having experience with a dominant man. He was initially introduced to us as a villain, and at the end of the series, he ended up being somewhat of a victim. It was hard to like him as a villain or a victim because that’s how poorly written his character was.

It wouldn’t be a Sam Levinson original if you didn’t sprinkle in misogyny. At the beginning of the show, I stated that Jocelyn was being photographed for her new comeback album after having a mental breakdown. The album featured her with just a robe on and she has an intimacy coach on sat with her to make sure she doesn’t push any boundaries that she doesn’t want to. As this episode progresses, the intimacy coach is trying his best to get Jocelyn to cover up and not possibly ruin her image by making her album cover trashy, she was just a child star, and now to possibly see her naked on an album cover may not be the right move for her. In response to that they hide the intimacy coach in the closet and proceed to make Jocelyn take her clothes off in front of everyone. I would’ve just written that off as weird, but knowing the history of Sam Levinson, and how everyone is naked on euphoria unprovoked, it didn’t sit well with me. In the same episode, a picture of Jocelyn has been leaked of her with cum on her face during an intimate moment with whoever. They’re panicked and they don’t necessarily know what to do or how to stop his picture from going viral. This again showed the reoccurring theme with Sam Levinson with the unnecessary lewdness of his writing. While I know, children aren’t watching the show, it was unnecessary to put a cum shot of a woman where it didn’t necessarily need to be. He could’ve leaned into how revenge porn can affect a female celebrity but of course, he wouldn’t go that far, because this picture becomes a reoccurring theme in the show where they want to use a picture where Jocelyn is vulnerable as her album cover. Between wanting to use the picture of Her having a cum shot on her and her naked it was a bit careless, to say the least, especially knowing how much power men have over women in this industry. I don’t expect much from Sam Levinson, but I immediately need him away from portraying women's stories.

The biggest misconception about the show was the fact that it was labeled a r*pe fantasy. I remember the reviews coming out before the show came out and the biggest story was the cum shot. Picture of Lily Rose Depp. While I found the show tacky and distasteful. It was not a r*pe fantasy. The show is not too far off from the storylines and concept of Euphoria, poorly written with some glimpses of hope due to side characters. The sex scenes were non-consensual, just unnecessary. Whenever it was initiated, it will automatically be an eye roll as the sex scenes had no place in that particular storyline. It led me to believe that Sam Levinson doesn’t know how to write a proper drama without including unnecessary sex scenes that make everyone uncomfortable. I kind of imagine it like a weird teenage boy, who just discovered sex, and now is looking at life through an over-sexualized lens. And because of this, this is why The Idol and even Euphoria will never reach their true potential.

The Idol is a direct result when you let men take over to tell women stories. The idol had amazing potential to portray the actual behind-the-scenes story of a child star navigating her way through adulthood and the obstacles that come with changing your image and finding yourself after being told who you were for your entire life. A positive thing I can say about the series was the characters that I was introduced to aside from Tedros. Jocelyn, Xander, Leia, Chloe, etc. we’re all redeeming characters that could have possibly been an amazing showcase of the support system that you have in Hollywood how ever their characters were reduced due to poor writing. The shining light that was supposed to be the idol dimmed as soon as the Weeknd and Sam Levinson fired the original writer. Looking at the behind-the-scenes pictures of the original plot of the show you could tell it was supposed to be so much more, but was unfortunately, reduced to a six-episode series without direction or a proper end. Take this as a lesson to not speak over women and tell them what their experiences are, or you’ll end up with the failure that is now known as The Idol.

The Idol is available for streaming on Max!

What do you guys think? Was The Idol worth the watch? Are you interested in watching? What could have been done to make the show better? What direction could the show have gone if the direction was still under Amy Seimetz?

Ugh I’m finally back to my roots (writing) I needed to get this off my chest and what better way to break my hiatus! So excited to be back and writing about pop culture! More coming soon💓

I’ll see you guys next post✨

Cherokee🩵

#whatuwatchin #pop culture #black feminism #black femininity #The Weeknd #lily rose depp #lily rose melody depp #the idol #summer watch list #troye sivan #Jennie

[cherokeecharles]

so i watch this reality show, and there’s one member that has faced a lot of racism and ostracizing on it. despite this, she’s been extremely kind and forgiving and honestly just the best person in the house. her name is taylor hale, and this is her!

for several weeks, 15 other people made fun of her, called her names behind her back, and left her out of everything. a lot of microaggressions came out against her. at times when it would have been very justified for her to scream and yell and just be angry, she kept calm and handled everything with grace. she’s been friendly to everyone, even praying for another houseguest’s sick mother.

every season, at the end of the show, they release a poll for people to vote for their favorite member—and i implore you to vote for taylor! even if you don’t care about reality tv whatsoever, the winner gets $50,000, and i wholeheartedly think she deserves it for powering through everything she’s faced in the house and still coming out on top. plus, the winners of this show are usually men, often white men, and it’d be great to be able to shed light on black women!

you can vote here: https://www.cbs.com/shows/big_brother/vote/

please note that the voting is US only, so if you are in another country, you will need to download a vpn.

reblogs are super appreciated! you can vote up to 10 times per email, so if you’d like to vote for her again, you can just sign in with another email!

[cherokeecharles]

[cherokeecharles]

I'm this angry today.

I ain't even got nobody to be mad at. 😵‍💫🙃

[cherokeecharles]

[cherokeecharles]

Nene Leakes at SpongeBob SquarePants Wax Figure Unveiled in Honor of 10th Anniversary at Madame Tussauds (2009).

[cherokeecharles]

Kelis in NME Magazine, 2000 via @brimalandro

[cherokeecharles]

What U Watchin’ #7: Swarm (2023)

With the opening of the spring season. We were delighted with the presence of the new Amazon thriller series, Swarm. Swarm is a psychological horror that depicts an obsessed fan that will do anything to protect their favorite artist. Sounds familiar, right? Donald Glover does an amazing job of capturing the mind of obsessed fans and the reaction of the people around them. There were many aspects that need to be talked about for the show. The storyline, the characters, and what’s to come next.

Without giving too much away, Dre is an obsessive fan of the popstar Ni’Jah. Dre lives with her adoptive sister Marissa who is also a fan but seems like she’s moving on to a new chapter in her life. Marissa has a boyfriend (Khalid) who she’s taking seriously to Dre’s dismay and that leads to issues they face in their sisterhood. Dre was right about Khalid all along as he had made attempts to sleep with Dre and later breaks up with Marissa after taking her on a trip. Marissa then dies which we don’t know the cause of yet but that leaves Dre heartbroken and vengeful she finds Khalid to greave but that ultimately leads to her manically killing Khalid starting her murder spree on anyone who spoke ill of the two things she loved the most Marissa and Ni’Jah. Dre goes on a tour of America it seems and wants to become closer to Ni’Jah. The entire time, Dre takes on different personas often taking up a different name and background while also still acting like Marissa is still alive. She keeps in constant communication with Marissa through her cell phone, even though it’s just her talking to herself. The story unfolds more as the series progresses.

With the amount of backlash that Chloe Bailey faced, Chloe wasn’t even in the movie for that long. Chloe was the main character's best friend, Marissa. Marissa served a purpose as this was someone to who Dre has emotionally attached herself since she was a child. People taking the one scene of her sleeping with her boyfriend in the movie and taking it out of context was absolutely disgusting. If people cared to know why that scene was put in was to show how Dre was repulsed by Marissa‘s boyfriend. While I understood most of the characters on the show and I took it for what it was, it seems like a lot of people have different interpretations of Dre. I’m gonna come out and say it, I don’t think Dre was autistic. Dre’s character was supposed to be a psychotic, codependent super fan. There was nothing about Dre that gave she was autistic. Dre portrayed someone who was obsessive, she wasn’t in her right mind but she also knew how to control herself if needed. She lost control when she thought things weren’t going her way ie: someone disrespecting Ni’Jah or Marissa. She sides those two as people who have kept her alive and kept her going so seeing someone disrespect those two in her presence would make her snap. Dre has had these issues since she was a child, but Marissa was the only one who was willing to accept Dre for who she was.

During the show, the main plot line is Dre finding her way to Ni’Jah. Ni’Jah is the head of the Swarm which is her fanbase that adores her and if you say something that doesn’t praise Ni’Jah you might get stung. Ni’Jah wasn’t seen on the show as much but you can pretty much guess who the character reflects. If you guessed Beyoncé, you’re right! Ni’Jah was heavily inspired by Beyoncé and Dre was portraying an obsessive fan of The Swarm ie: The Beyhive. There were little jabs that were obviously pointed toward Beyoncé and the Beyhive. One that made me extremely uncomfortable was the fact that Dre was dancing to a Ni’Jah song for her strip club performance and it was a song talking about her miscarriage, Dre’s coworkers go on to make fun of this song and also say that no one gives a care about that about her miscarriage. While it may seem like a small thing, I didn’t necessarily like how that was written into the show. It kind of trivializes the miscarriage that an actual person i.e., Beyoncé actually faced in the real world. If that storyline wasn’t obvious enough, we get to an episode, which is kind of like a true crime documentary that is detailing, Dre’s murder spree and the overall obsession of Ni’Jah coming from members of the Swarm. As the episode progressed, there were multiple people who were interviewed. One of the people who were interviewed was a self-proclaimed big fan of Ni’Jah and he was wearing Ivy Park gear… Lol obvi much??! Well, I understand I’ve been Beyhive has been at the forefront of Internet fan bases, I do think that it should have been asked specifically that it was targeting that fan base only. There are many different fandoms has shown mania, derangement, and delusion and I think it would’ve been more fair to showcase that instead of taking specifically from that fan base.

The show ends with Dre going to the Ni’Jah concert after murdering her girlfriend, who clearly disapproved of her obsession with Ni’Jah. She then makes her way to the Ni’Jah concert, while at the concert she’s so in transit seeing her idol on stage she then makes her way to the front of the crowd and then proceeds to get on stage. As she gets on stage is like she’s in a daze and the only person that she sees is the goddess that is Ni’Jah. As she gets closer, it’s like the crowd fades out and they are the only two people at the concert but as you look closely at Ni’Jah’s face you see the face of Marissa on Ni’Jah’s body. Instead of being scared that a crazed fan is on stage, Ni’Jah calls off the security and proceeds to protect Dre and guides her to the limo not many words are said but she was given comfort in Ni’Jah’s arms and then it ends.

I think this was an amazing start to the series and I hope to see your progress as time goes on. Though I know that this is focused on Beyoncé’s Fanbase I would like to see the other aspect of other fandoms and more of the celebrities' reactions to it. This show perfectly depicts the toxicity that comes with being in a parasocial relationship with someone you adore and idolize but in reality, they have no idea who they are. In 2020 when rose-colored glasses came in we started to see celebrities for who they actually are. I think over time since 2020 we looked beyond their fame and star power and questioned whether it was worth possibly losing your sanity off of someone who has no idea who you are. The show does an amazing job of showing someone who was an obsessive fan and couldn’t move on (Dre) and someone who was a huge fan but was starting to move on with their life and not relate to the lifestyle anymore (Marissa). It will be exciting to see the direction in which the show will go in for season two, and hopefully, there will be more than seven episodes.

Swarm is available now on Amazon Prime for viewing!

We made it through April you guys! Time is flying FAST and guess who’s graduating in two weeks… (ME!) I’m so excited to see what May has to offer and to celebrate my 22nd birthday (May 5th). I’ve been nervous/sad about getting a job after college but I have a feeling everything will work out fine (pray for me y’all)!

I’ll see you guys next post💓

Cherokee🤍

#pop culture #fandom #Beyoncé #swarm 2023 #swarm amazon #Domonique Fishback #black femininity #black womanhood #whatuwatchin #bey hive #billie eilish #black woman #black feminism #bloggers

[cherokeecharles]

*press for love and affection*

 me:

[cherokeecharles]

Megan’s Instagram Update (April 7, 2023)

[cherokeecharles]

#Hottakes #10: Men are scary AF!

You give an inch they take a mile is how I can describe men’s behaviors at the moment. I’m pretty sure everyone is well-educated in sexism and misogyny, but it seems like it’s ramped up over the last couple of years. Whether it be actively supporting an abuser, the podcast man, or just being downright nasty to women men have been scarier lately. The recent Jonathan Majors news, and push us to the forefront that we don’t know who these men are in real life, or what’s their true nature. Men in positions of power are notoriously protected by media and their rabbit fan bases, but the case of Jonathan Majors makes this a bit more sinister.

Jonathan Majors has just had a breakout year by starring in the movie Creed III alongside Michael B Jordan. The publicity was high, and praise was raining in from all corners, yet somehow black men did not like him. Black men often criticized him for being way too feminine and pandering to the female gaze. Women often defended him against the misogynistic comments that were made towards him and supported him while people were being nasty. While not being the traditional beauty standards, women also went out of their way to complement his unique look and uplifted him rather than join in with the people who were bashing his looks. All of this came to a screeching halt on March 25, 2023, when it was reported that he was arrested for assaulting his girlfriend. It almost gave me whiplash to see the public opinion change on him within minutes. The same women who supported him in the past were shocked and disgusted that they even supported him in the first place, understandably so. But with me, the situation, just a little more sinister was the increased support that he got from black men, the very black man that didn’t like him, because he was pandering to women.

As the details were released about Jonathan Majors, dynamics shifted immediately. Black men who were the ones who didn’t support Jonathan Majors at all, and did not see the height behind him were all of the sidings championing him and protecting him from whatever backlash was to come from his actions. The ‘protect black men’ posse was out in rare form, trying to rehabilitate his public image while it was progressively getting worse. Multiple people who have worked with Jonathan Majors has alleged he wasn’t who he seemed, and yet you have people defending his name like their life depended on it. The bigger question that I asked is why black men amp up the support when the black man and question is being called out for their abusive behavior. Up to last weekend, Jonathan Majors was not a favorite amongst black men and now we’re being told that he’s the second coming of Emmett Till just because his accuser is a white woman. The accuser could be a textbook victim of domestic violence, and they wouldn’t care just because she’s white and white women and black men have a troubled past. This leads me to say that this builds somewhat of a distrust between black men and black women.

The relationship between men and women has been strained especially within the black community. The Jonathan Majors situation puts a light on the underlying issues that we have between black men and black women. Why are black men only in support of other black men when they’re being abusive towards women? Jonathan Majors expressing his femininity and then being an abuser is scary af. Of course, we don’t know who these celebrities are in real life but it’s almost like he knew exactly what to say to a particular audience that he knew would support him. Not too long ago he was talking about black men showing their feelings and emotions in an interview for the Creed III movie just so he could be an abuser.

To be clear, I know this isn’t every black man who acts like this, or who is an abuser. The problem lies is with who women can trust. As a woman growing up, we all are taught every cautionary tale possible about how men are untrustworthy, and men are this and that. But when do you teach those men to do better? Jonathan Majors is just one of many celebrities who have been protected after showing an abusive nature towards women. At what point does it end? It’s almost like abuse and Hollywood go hand-in-hand. At some point, these behaviors will be called out and will have an in-depth discussion that isn’t coddling abusers.

Happy Women's Month! I hope you all had an amazing month and celebrated womanhood as best as you know how. What do y'all think about the Jonathan Majors story? Are we surprised? Did we expect better? So sorry for the late post but life has been life-ing lately so I'll keep everyone updated on that soon! See you guys next post!

Cherokee💓

#pop culture #hottakes #jonathan majors #abuser #hollywood #believe women #black woman #womens history month #black femininity #black womanhood #black feminism #black tumblr #black blogger

[cherokeecharles]

Mood

[cherokeecharles]

#Hottakes #9: All isn’t forgiven, Chris Brown

Happy Black History Month my loves. I hope everyone had the month they deserve. While celebrating Black History Month like the black queen that I am, I got to enjoy the Rihanna halftime performance. While I loved every minute of the Rihanna halftime performance, it seems like this subject never seems to fade while we’re talking about Rihanna which is Chris Brown. The ill-fated relationship rears its ugly head whenever Rihanna is the topic of conversation and I speak for all of us when I say, we’re tired. Chris Brown has a history of abuse that goes beyond what he did to Rihanna that affected others, his abusive tendencies never stopped yet here we are being policed to forgive someone who’s an all-around shitty person. Those who can’t seem to understand why abusers aren’t easily forgiven, I’ll help you understand.

Chris Brown has been a star since he was 19 years old. As everyone knows when you’re a teenager you make mistakes but that comes with the guarantee that we learn and grow from these mistakes. Since Grammy night in 2009, there hasn’t been much growth with Chris Brown with his violent behavior and it seemingly got worse. Two years after the Rihanna incident, Chris Brown had an interview on the Today Show with Robin Roberts. When asked about the domestic abuse case, he stormed off to his dressing room and proceeded to break a window. And the relationship post Rihanna with Karrueche Tran, they were together for four years and Karruche detailed abusive behaviors from Chris Brown. In 2014, they officially broke up because she found out that Chris had gotten another woman pregnant. In 2017, she filed a restraining order and come forward that she was abused by Chris Brown, and said that he threatened to kill her. She quoted “He said if no one else can have me, then he’s gonna ‘take me out.’” Singer KayCola came to Karrueche’s defense and confirmed in a series of tweets that she heard him beating Karruche and heard her screaming in agony and that she even called the police as she is also a victim of domestic violence. Karrueche details that Chris Brown punched her in the stomach and pushed her down the stairs a few years prior and no police report was filed as Chris Brown was still on probation for his assault on Rihanna in 2009. Karrueche has since filed a permanent restraining order against Chris Brown and won. Different from the rest but still notable Frank Ocean was also a victim of Chris Brown’s violent behavior. In 2013, it was reported that Chris Brown jumped Frank Ocean after Frank Ocean declined to shake his hand. It was reported that he punched the side of Frank Ocean’s face while two other men proceeded to jump Frank Ocean while calling him the f slur. Chris Brown also threatened to kill Frank Ocean during that occurrence.

The list goes on with abuse that women (and Frank Ocean) have faced at the hands of Chris Brown. Yet, we’re still being told that he was just a child and it was just a mistake and we should forgive him. Chris Brown has been forgiven his entire career and that’s why he still flourished even after he abused Rihanna. Around the time the attack against Rihanna happened, he was still invited to perform at the BET awards, and do a Michael Jackson tribute act where he broke down and cried because of his idol. He was coddled, protected, and loved even though she just had a domestic violence scandal. Within two weeks of the domestic violence scandal, he was still being talked about in black media. Chris Brown went on to have such a successful career after, he was still able to crank out music as if nothing happened, be in high social circles, and still be adorned in the black community. It was to point out that the abuse that he has committed on these people became a joke. As recent as 2022, Chris Brown received an American Music Award which Kelly accepted on his behalf. The Award was at first met with silence until Kelly Rowland said to ‘give him his flowers’. She then goes to TMZ and says “I believe that grace is very real, and we all need a dose of it,” and “And before we point fingers at anybody, we should realize how grateful we are for every moment that we get... I just think it’s important to remember to be human. We are humans.” She then says “We all need to be forgiven for anything that we could be doing. Anything that we’re thinking,” And that’s what bothers me, people like that who say he should be forgiven we all make mistakes. We as the outsiders looking in, owe Chris Brown absolutely, nothing. While celebrities should be looking at the people who he has abused and see if they actually forgive them, or how they feel about being abused by them. They’re hell-bent on saving his reputation and image to the public who choose not to support him. There are people who are hesitant on supporting him, but for the most part, he was met with open arms to flip the narrative and act like he was a troubled soul, and that he learned from his actions.

As any celebrity would, they have a fan base that defends them to the very end. Chris Brown has been defended by his own fans and celebrities throughout his entire career, some even comparing him to Michael Jackson (lol). I’ve noticed over the years that the people he has abused have always been painted in a negative light after having a run-in with him. With Rihanna, we always slut shamed immediately after and it was made to look like she provoked the fight and made him beat on her. Still to this day, there are people on social media apps that say that Rihanna admitted to her faults in the fight when that is not what she said. Karrueche was made a joke. When Chris Brown would stalk her, it would become a meme that people used all while her abuse is being documented and laughed at. And any woman who had something to say against Chris Brown was made out to be like she was a hater, or that she was lying, or that she was tearing a black man down. At what point do we say the facts? That he IS an abuser. Is everyone just lying to him? Why can no one step forward and be believed by the public? We are in an era of the #metoo movement and it’s obvious that we still have a long way to go with how we handle abusers.

Chris Brown has been an abuser as long as I have been tracking pop culture, and nothing has changed. Chris Brown and his celebrity acquaintances need to stop policing how we react toward abusers and instead search internally about why they aren’t getting much support. It goes beyond it, just being a support towards Rihanna, but rather not enabling toxic behavior in general, but more specifically in the black community. Abusers have been protected there, specially protected in Hollywood. When is enough, enough? When someone dies at the hands of a man who has never been held accountable? If we want to change, we had to hold people accountable as they come out with toxic traits. Yes, we are all human. But humans learn from their mistakes and we don’t make them again. To make the same mistake for 10+ years it’s obvious you have not learned anything, but instead, just learn to move on. I hope all domestic abuse survivors continue to come forward and continue to hold their abusers accountable and continue to make their voices be heard, and not be silenced by those who are in power or those who try to silence them.

That's all for today! I hope we move on from this conversation in the future because SHIT it's tiring to cover. Have an amazing rest of your black history and I'll see you guys next post!

Cherokee💓

#abuse cw #black femininity #black womanhood #black feminism #pop culture #rihanna #super bowl #Rihanna bowl #chris brown #kelly rowland #hottakes

[cherokeecharles]