He’s been defended by the likes of Diddy, Akon and Kanye West, but he’s also been shunned by Wrigley’s gum and “Got Milk.” Now, Chris Brown faces more fallout from his arrest and arraignment on criminal charges stemming from his abuse of girlfriend Rihanna. Brown, whose previously squeaky-clean pop star image made him a perfect choice for the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards, has removed himself from the voting ballot. Brown’s alleged domestic violence caused some controversy with media watchdog groups who said he should not be rewarded for his behavior by receiving an award from children, fearing that it would send an inappropriate message to kids who watch the venerable awards show.

If kids ruled the world, the breakfast of champions would be candy, recess would last all day and Chris Brown would be nominated for a Kids’ Choice Award.

Needless to say, that’s not the case.

A day after Nickelodeon refused to bow to growing public pressure and remove the felonies-facing artist from its list of nominees, Brown himself has withdrawn his name from consideration for his dual slimey honors.

“Chris very much appreciates the support of his fans and the honor they have paid him in the way of nominations for Favorite Male Singer and Favorite Song,” his spokesman said.

“Unfortunately, the controversy surrounding the incident last month has shifted the focus from the music to whether he should be allowed to be among those nominated.”

Just yesterday, the kid-friendly network defended its decision to let Brown’s nominations stand, claiming he was selected for the honors months ago and maintaining that “the kids who vote will ultimately decide who wins in the category.”

Among those nominees still up for the prizes: Rihanna.

The songbird was, until today, up against her boyfriend in the Favorite Song category, with “Don’t Stop the Music” set to battle it out with Brown’s “Kiss Kiss.”

Still, despite the network’s earlier holdout, Nickelodeon now says they “agree with” Brown’s decision to pull out.

“We are confirming that Chris Brown has decided to withdraw his nominations from the Kids’ Choice Awards,” they said in a statement. “We agree with and respect his decision and are looking forward to presenting a great event for our audience.”

Brown’s announcement to withdraw his name from competition also comes in the wake of massive parental backlash against Nickelodeon, with a Twitter group launching a 3,000-signature-strong online petition to ban Brown from the kid-determined awards show.

His departure also comes in the wake of an entry posted to Brown’s MySpace blog earlier this month, urging fans to vote for him for the awards.

What a difference an arraignment makes.

“While Chris would like to speak to his fans directly about this and other issues, pending legal proceedings preclude his doing so at this time,” his spokesman said. “Once the matter before him has been resolved, he intends to do so.”

[From E!]

I’m not sure what the right course of action was here, but at least Brown had the good sense to remove himself from the situation and stir up even more bad will. If anything, this could have been a good opportunity to discuss domestic abuse with kids, who no doubt have seen the leaked photos of Rihanna’s bruised face and may have questions about it. But I agree that given the circumstances, Brown should not be a role model or object of admiration for anyone- let alone impressionable kids.

Chris Brown is pictured at the 2008 Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards. Photo credits: WENN.