Turns out, lots of people don't like this guy …
Australia has a problem. It seems douche-lords keep beating the shit out of their significant others, a trend causing 63 deaths this year already and an unfortunate reality that sees 1 in 6 of its women become a victim of domestic violence through their lifetimes.
The sobering statistics have led the country to take a few drastic measures to show how unacceptable the behavior is — and now Chris Brown is in the crossfire of it. Naturally.
The R&B/hip-hop artist, most known for his assault on America’s sweetheart, Rihanna, in 2009 (and not, you know, for being a musician, dancer or actor), applied for a visa to bring his One Hell of a Nite tour to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth in December. But the Australian government is saying, “Nay.”
His application hasn’t been officially denied … yet … but a letter of intention to consider refusal has been issued, giving Brown 28 days to appeal and show the officials why he should be allowed into the country. A decision on whether or not Brown will be allowed to enter won’t come until after the 28-day period, but it’s going to be an uphill battle, for sure.
Given the high-profile nature of his crime — coupled with the fact he’s just been a shitty person following his conviction — the likelihood of being allowed to enter (even though he’s toured the country twice after his RiRi-assault, both in 2011 and 2012) is slim — because now Australia is attempting to crack down on DV, and a high profile celebrity denial could send a message.
But some fans, and even one writer for The Guardian, claim the action is the Australian government’s way of deflecting the focus away from itself, essentially making Brown a scapegoat for a much larger issue.
“There’s no doubt that Brown, convicted of punching and trying to strangle his then girlfriend Rihanna, is a nasty piece of work,” says Jeff Sparrow for The Guardian. “Nor can anyone dispute the seriousness of violence against women in Australia. According to a much-quoted statistic, a woman is killed roughly once a week by a partner or former partner.
“But the immigration department is not the solution.”
Sparrow says attempting to ban Brown from the country is a distraction, a “cheap headline-grabbing stunt” and something that essentially won’t work to get the younger generation’s attention to the matter. In effect, it’s not up to the immigration department to fix what’s wrong with Australian dudes.
Brown says he intends to do what he has to in order to bring his tour overseas, claiming the reactions he saw from fans on his social media accounts pushed him to fight for entry.
“everytime i check my mentions it’s a aussie fan telling me fuck that fight it they using you as a scapegoat because things are bad right now and politicians wanna look good..it boosted new energy in me this is gonna be like romeo and Juliet trying keeping us apart …” he writes.
Hold tight while we give our grammar and spell-checks time to cool down …
So we’ll see what happens in the next 28 days. While it does seem pretty fucked up to ban someone outright for a crime he committed almost 7 years ago, anyone with a head will likely agree that what he did was pretty inexcusable, and it’s something he’ll never live down.
Whatever the country decides is what the country decides, but the quandary still remains: how the beloved hell does this guy still have a job in entertainment?
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