For almost ten years Chris Brown has not been able to shake his bad boy reputation. There was a time when the boy-next-door from Virginia was winning hearts with his sweet songs of teen romance. But the 2009 assault of Rihanna changed everything.
Brown has since dealt with club fights, alcohol abuse, drug use, incarceration and publicly ruined a relationship with stylist turned actress, Karrueche Tran.
Lil Mama believes Brown was never able to redeem himself because of the stigma put against him from the 2009 assault case. “Look at Chris Brown,” she said on the Flip Da Script podcast. “There’s always a rock being thrown at him. To the point where maybe his heart is hardened.”
“You’ve done things in your past that’s not on the record because you didn’t have the fame at the age of 15,” she said to the hosts. “And this s–t that you was doing, you and your loved ones and your close friends, they remember that s–t. And forgive you for it. Imagine the whole world not forgiving you for something that you did.”
Adding, “We’ve got to learn how to forgive each other.”
The 27-year-old drops some gems in the interview and even cries when talking about the scrutiny on Black celebrities. And while we agree in many ways, Brown does have an obligation to be a better person for his own peace of mind.
With questionable friends around, constant partying, cussing out fans on social media and his latest shenanigan of avoiding a restraining order that he could have easily accepted —without going to court— it feels like he only digs his holes deeper.
We’re no Iyanla Vanzant but maybe Brown needs to forgive himself first, act right, and everyone else will follow suit.