Chris Brown’s new interview – he’s starting to get it

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Chris Brown knows he needs to issue a sincere mea culpa for beating and biting Rihanna black, blue and bloody in February, especially following her interview on 20/20 in which she described his vacant, soul-less eyes while he beat the crap out of her. ABC has given Brown a forum despite repeatedly cancelling appearances by semi-controversial singer Adam Lambert. It’s like it’s ok to let abusive creeps speak out but they can’t deal with musicians who might have sexually suggestive homo-erotic elements in their performances. I don’t get why they just don’t ask Lambert to tone it down, but maybe he refuses to.

Anyway, getting back to Brown, I had the chance to watch some clips of his interview with Robin Roberts, which aired on GMA this morning. (I can’t embed the video, but you can view it on GMA’s website.) The full interview will be on 20/20 on Friday. Brown seems more contrite then he did in his really lame Larry King interview in which he called the media’s response to the attack “out of proportion” and focused primarily on how he felt after the incident, as if he were the victim, not Rihanna. Now he’s saying the right things, sort-of. I mean he’s still focusing on how it affects him, and he still looks angry but he does seem to have changed a little and to have grasped the gravity of what he did. He still seems defensive and talks about the incident in vague terms, but again I got the impression that he’s changed his tune somewhat. Is it enough to warrant a career resurgence? Hell no.

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I never ever had problems with anger. No domestic violence with anyone in my past… I look at it… like, how could I be that person.

I was wrong for what I did and I would definitely say it was not something I look past or look over… something that was really, really touchy.

And like I said I’m really, really sorry for what went down and what happened.

On if he gets the severity of what happened.
Of course. 100%. I think what it is when people see me smiling and kind of nonchalantly giving answers… I’m human, really I’m like really hurting inside and… it really kind of is like devastating me.

On if he can understand Rihanna’s “scar inside” comment on abuse
Yes, absolutely. I can see what damage it does mentally more than physical.

On if he still loves Rihanna
I have love for her.

[Transcribed from Chris Brown’s interview on GMA, aired 11/3/09]

Ok, I think Chris is starting to get it. I don’t think he fully gets it but I also don’t believe he could have been properly coached to give those responses without feeling and understanding what he was saying. Even if someone sat him down and told him to say those things and sound contrite you can see the light dawning in his eyes that he realizes he was wrong. He might not do it again. We can only hope.

It’s also worth noting that he’s started to fulfill his community service requirements and has been praised by the judge for his progress. He’s also completed over seven sessions in domestic violence counseling. His counselor probably got through to him. Now if he records a PSA for domestic violence admitting that he’s an abuser, that’s when I think public opinion might turn around.

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29 Responses to “Chris Brown’s new interview – he’s starting to get it”

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  1. Stella says:

    he has the crazy eyes

  2. Kelley-Mac says:

    It will take a very long time before this person gets the weight of his actions. Abusers require a lot of counseling and work before they change their actions. It is good that he is getting help, but there is no way that I would ever support this person in a career comeback. If he had beat someone he did not know like he did Rihanna, he would be in jail.

  3. lucy2 says:

    I don’t buy it. All of his previous interviews have not helped him, so I’m guessing a PR person told him what to say this time to try to come off better.
    If he didn’t get it right away upon seeing the photos and police report of what he did to her, I don’t think he ever will. “When people see me smiling, I’m hurting on the inside”??? Please. He needs to crawl in a hole and stay there.

  4. trishy says:

    I haven’t once heard him say “I’m sorry for what I did.” It’s always been “I’m sorry for what happened.”

    No, this kid doesn’t get it yet.

  5. hmm says:

    Still not buying it.

  6. Ling says:

    It’s strange… he and I are almost exactly the same age – he’s older, in fact – but what I see in the interview reminds me of my little brother. (Attitude-wise, that is, not domestic-violence-wise.) He just seems incredibly immature – strike 1 – and he’s a boy, therefore utterly incapable of talking it out – strike 2 – and it wouldn’t surprise me if he’s never really had to use his brain in his life – strike 3. All these elements combined, I’m not 1000% surprised he turned violent when he got cornered like he did.

  7. SageAdvice says:

    What bothers me about him is that he seems to take no personal responsibility. it’s always “the events of that night” or “what transpired” or “what went down and what happened.”

    Only now has he managed to eek out an “I was wrong for what I did”. And this was only through counseling. It’s kinda sad and weird to me that only after lots of counseling does he finally say that he did something wrong. It’s nice and all but I would never ever trust him completely.

    Edit: And he definitely still sounds angry. Being angry about it is a clear indicator that he feels no remorse for what he did. He’s angry that he got caught and angry that his career had to take a hit and angry that people found out that he beat Rihanna. He’s not sad about any of it-he finally says he’s wrong about it but does he feel any remorse?

    To me, it feels really wrong when someone says “I’m sorry” and they are angry about it. It’s less of an “I’m sorry that I did it” than it is “I’m angry that I got caught”.

  8. Obvious says:

    I’m sorry CB a public service announcement will do nothing in my eyes. and that pic is doing him no favors with the crazy eyes.

    brown just needs to just disappear for a few years. if we don’t hear about it, and he comes back in oh say about 6-9 years he might stand a chance.

  9. moo says:

    F*CK CHRIS BROWN!!!!!!!!!!

  10. Relli says:

    Why does he always have that look on his face. Like somewhere between a grimace and shouting but his eyes are smiling or crazy I cannot decide. Never listened to his music, could care less about his career but i hated the initial manufactured filming in the conference room at his attorney’s office that he initially released.

    he bit her? really who does that after the age of five, seriously.

  11. GatsbyGal says:

    “I’m human, really I’m like really hurting inside and… it really kind of is like devastating me.”

    Fucking sociopath who’s just using words he thinks the American public wants to hear. There is no way on earth he is actually “hurting” from any of this, except of course financially. He’s a manipulator, though not a very good one since he’s practically transparent every time he opens his mouth. He feels no true remorse, of this I am certain.

    Edit: A PSA will do nothing to redeem him. He’s only going through the motions necessary to reclaim his career, that’s it. If he has to do 100 PSAs, he will do it. But it doesn’t mean he will actually be sincere and mean anything that he says.

  12. Overit says:

    He is absolutely the worst of his “genre” – the young, tough, bling-wearing, chest-thumping, misogynistic rapper. He and his ilk make me sick.

  13. Fire says:

    I agree, Obvious. Why doesn’t he just go away? It would seriously help his image if he shut the f*ck up. He might be able to have a comeback in a number of years, after the public has “forgotten” about what he did….

    “Oh, Chris Brown, wasn’t he the one who…didn’t he have an argument with his girlfriend or something? I can’t remember.” I know there are those of us who won’t forget what a piece of shit he is and the gravity of his actions, but trust me, the general public will be on to the latest scandal and will likely give him a pass. That is if he shuts up now. The more he talks, the more he is ingraining it into our brains.

    And, yeah, the dude needs some serious therapy. And now every time I see him, I think of her comment about the soul-less eyes, which seem almost highlighted in that second picture.

  14. Lee says:

    The top screen shot gives a tiny idea of the face Rihanna saw when he was beating her up. Scary, empty, immature. And biting? That shit is done by age 3 in normal people, when kids begin to handle their frustration, and understand repercussions. And BTW, sociopaths can spout off all the nice things we want to hear, without meaning a single word of it.

  15. chickentikkatellmewhatswrong says:

    GatsbyGal- YES! He is a sociopath – absolutely. I read somewhere that the percentage of successful sociopaths is far higher than imagined precisely because they have no qualms about stepping on people’s heads to get there…
    I hope no one falls for this specimen’s act and his record label drops him. STAT

  16. lanette says:

    I will never understand the comparison to Adam Lambert. His performance was disgusting. Chris Brown is talking about what he did to Rihanna not what he did on stage. Adam is obsessed with his own sexuality. The guy is crazy talented but that performance was a hot mess….

  17. Di says:

    He looks like Jim Carrey in “The Mask”

  18. la chica says:

    he’s got a new CD to sell. as does Rihanna. next?

  19. crash2GO2 says:

    ‘I haven’t once heard him say “I’m sorry for what I did.” It’s always been “I’m sorry for what happened.”

    No, this kid doesn’t get it yet. ‘

    @trishy: very astute observation.

  20. mojoman says:

    “…it really kind of is like devastating me.”
    WTF does that even mean, so it’s KIND OF devastating for him??!! A person who bites and cant string a proper sentences together should be sitting in the corner, not in a studio getting a pity party interview!

  21. jazz@yahoo.com says:

    Well, he’s not Larry Sinclair!

  22. ViktoryGin says:

    @Overit

    Though Chris Brown is on my shit list, he absolutely is NOT the worst of his genre in terms of subject matter and image. He is also not a rapper. For misogynistic, female-debasing content and image the likes of Snoop Dogg, Cam’ron, and Lil’Wayne are more appropriate. Give him time, though. He’ll get there. In like of this “incident”, however, if he’s got any sense at all he’ll not go there.

  23. Len says:

    He SO doesn’t get it yet. He never will. He’s quite dumb, this boy. Actually he’s horribly dumb. I would say almost mentally hadicapped. Seriously.

  24. tey says:

    the more he talks (about this), well– he may even be a misoginist.

    she is soooo lucky she broke away from him. he is definitely going to do something like this again — given his apparent lack of remorse.

    he doesn’t even know how much of a loser he is. not a clue.

  25. n says:

    Is it just me or does anyone else think that he looks like a younger version of Joe Jackson?

  26. Dolkite says:

    Two things have the potential to drive me to spree-killing insanity. One is this mans mustache.

  27. Embee says:

    He is practically snarling in every screen shot. Nasty-scary.

  28. mariah says:

    heyy
    my names mariah
    i think chris is gorgeous
    i reall ydont know why the media is getting all up in his and rihannas bussiness, i love both him and rihanna but what happened between them is none of our bussiness eitha
    oh and chris has got beautiful eyes
    thank you very much
    LOVE YOU CHRIS XOXOXOX
    BYE

  29. mariah says:

    everyone please stop talking like that
    he is not a loser
    you dont know how sorry he is
    i just see love somewhere in his eyes that maybe you cant see but i can
    hes a human just like us
    just forgive him or dont even bother saying anything
    ew and chris does not look like a younger version of joe jackson, dats jus crazy
    xoxox2 you chris