Chris Brown took to Instagram on Friday to rail against cancel culture, attempting to dismiss his assault of former girlfriend Rihanna as a “mistake” he made when he was 17 years old. (The R&B singer was actually 19 when the incident made headlines in 2009).
On his Instagram Story, Brown reacted to a tweet written by former Cheetah Girls member Kiely Williams, who joined the chorus of people decrying Brown’s upcoming collaboration with singer Chloë Bailey. Williams tweeted, “Let [Brown] come out with his own record—so genius, so captivating that it makes us all forget HE BEATS WOMEN. He slowly creeps back into the mainstream by getting small nods for features on Black Women’s merit. Black women who are more talented, more worthy, but give him the okay.
Brown responded on his Story: “IF Y’ALL STILL HATE ME FOR A MISTAKE I MADE AS A 17 year old please kiss my whole entire ass! I’M FUCKING 33! I'M SO TIRED OF RUNNING WITH THIS NARRATIVE.”
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Brown continued his tirade by calling out a number of white celebrities who have been accused of or arrested for domestic battery charges, including Sean Penn, Emma Roberts, Charlie Sheen, and Nicolas Cage.
“Where are the cancel culture with these white artist that date underage women, BEAT THE FUCK OUT THEIR WIVES, GIVING BITCHES AIDS, OH. That’s right... THEY ARE YOUR BUDDIES,” Brown continued.
This most recent backlash against Brown ignited on Thursday, when Bailey announced that he would be featured on the second single from her upcoming album In Pieces. That news triggered heated scrutiny from commentators who bashed her decision to work with an artist who has such a well-documented history of abuse. Besides his infamous history with Rihanna, Brown has been accused of the following in recent years: threatening to kill former girlfriend Karrueche Tran, threatening another woman with a gun, raping someone in a Paris hotel, and raping a woman on a yacht.
