Chris Brown withdraws from Kids Choice Awards: Is it a victory?
by Mir KaminThere's been no shortage of outrage when it comes to Rihanna's beating at the hands of boyfriend Chris Brown, or about Nickelodeon's failure to withdrawn Brown from consideration in the Kids Choice Awards. But now the problem has been solved, because Brown has withdrawn his name from the ballot as of this afternoon.
But is the problem solved?
Let's recap: Rihanna and Brown had an argument, which ended with Rihanna landing in the hospital, beaten beyond recognition. We begged Rihanna to leave him, we begged the media to help, and we shared our personal stories in an effort to show Nickelodeon exactly what their support of Chris Brown was telling America. There was even an online petition circulated to urge Nickelodeon to take action. As of yesterday, Nickelodeon continued to back Brown. And today, Brown has voluntarily removed himself from award contention.
I'll ask you again: Is the problem here now solved?
Toya's World is willing to give a nod to Brown:
I think he did the right thing. It shows responsibility and caution on his behalf. I know this caused up a storm among many parents, and I am particularly shocked that Nickelodeon adamantly chose to stick by him especially when everybody else went out of their way to distance themselves.
Ifelicious goes beyond shock with Nickelodeon, right into disappointment:
I am disappointed in Nickelodeon, however. Not taking him off the ballot really sends a negative message to children that admitted criminal actions have no consequences.
DivaJulia of Dipped in Cream doesn't bother mincing words:
Can you hear it? It's the sound of Chris Brown's PR Team running at full-throttle. Seems Chris withdrew his name from Nickelodeon's Kids' Choice Awards due to "the incident" and "issues". Is that what he calls beating the shit out of his girlfriend's face?
From where I sit, I'm having a hard time feeling like this is any sort of solution. I agree with DivaJulia that Brown's withdrawal is a PR move, plain and simple. There was too much negative attention being paid to his failure to bow out; it's hard for me to see this move as anything other than a PR-dictated, too-little, too-late Hail Mary maneuver.
More troubling to me is Nickelodeon's role -- or should I say, non-role -- in this. While it's all good and well that Brown is no longer part of the Kids Choice Awards, as a parent I find Nickelodeon's whole supposed "we're neutral" and "innocent until proven guilty" stance completely unacceptable. Nick is in the business of children's entertainment. They can hem and haw all they like about the reasons why they didn't feel they needed to take action, but the bottom line is that they should've either removed Brown or asked him to withdraw from the awards as soon as the story went public. I don't care what your spin is; the man has been charged with felony assault, and Nickelodeon is a network for children. I think their refusal to take a stance in this matter is going to haunt them.
So. Problem solved? Not yet. Not by a long shot.
BlogHer Contributing Editor Mir also blogs about issues parental and otherwise at Woulda Coulda Shoulda, and about the joys of mindful retail therapy at Want Not.
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Comments
No. Problem not solved
I, too, am disappointed in the network. I do not give Brown much "credit" for withdrawing--Yes, it was the right thing to do, but it is not clear that he did it for the right reasons.
Beyond this case, however, I have noticed quite a lot of "age creep" with Nick. It seems the programming is getting more and more adult oriented. FIne for me as an adult, but there have definitely been episodes of shows that I have felt a little uneasy about my kids watching.
This issue will definitely come up again with this award show--maybe not the same exact situation but other adult real life (mis)behavior shown by nominees, performers, etc.
~~
This So-Called, Post-Post-Racial Life
http://postpostracial.wordpress.com/
age creep
I think that's a really important point, about the "age creep," because it does feel like it complicates things; perhaps Nick execs feel like they can't act on any outside-of-programming behaviors, because if they do, they'll be eliminating a significant portion of the stars the kids are idolizing. Food for thought, for sure.
--
Mir Kamin
(BlogHer contributing editor)
Personal: Woulda Coulda Shoulda
Having it all with less: Want Not
Just a couple of things.
Just a couple of things. That online petition that you mentioned is really problematic, because it names Rihanna along with Chris Brown and includes a bunch of victim blaming language and a real lack of understand of abusive relationships. I wouldn't sign that particular petition no matter how strongly I felt about Brown not being nominated for an award.
And as far as Chris Brown's statement using language like "the incident" and "issues" - he has to address the situation that way because he's facing criminal charges. If he releases a statement explaining what he did, that's really not going to help his defense any. And don't get me wrong, my preference would be for him to walk into court, plead guilty to everything that he's guilty of, and go to jail. But obviously he's not going to do that, which means that he's going to be following the advice of his lawyers on any public statements that he makes.
~Jezebel
The Evil Slut Clique
EvilSlutopia
also important points
I agree with you about the petition, for what it's worth. Though I see two different things happening re: Rihanna's "responsibility" herein -- while there is plenty of victim-blaming happening, sure, I've also seen the question raised of whether Rihanna "gets" to be a role model if she stays with Brown.
Hard stuff, with no easy answers. I guess I feel like Nick's position of doing nothing was a cop-out, regardless.
--
Mir Kamin
(BlogHer contributing editor)
Personal: Woulda Coulda Shoulda
Having it all with less: Want Not
No victory here
Being considered for a Kids Choice Award is not a basic human right, it's a privilege. So removing someone from consideration is a perfectly reasonable step to take. It should not have gone this long, and I'm disappointed that Nickelodeon allowed it. A children's network in particular should not implicitly condone violence in this way, it's yet another example of how abuse is not treated as seriously as it ought to be.
~ Amber
www.strocel.com
Big Problem Still Exists
I find it problematic that Chris Brown had to withdraw his name. Nick should have saved him the trouble and took his name off of the ballots themselves. Chris Brown is no role model and in my opnion, he never has been.
Mocha Dad
www.mochadad.com
The Victim Remains
For me, the saddest part of this whole saga is media reports that Rhianna and Chris Brown have reconciled - seemingly without crisis intervention or intensive therapy. If that is the case, Rhianna remains the victim (not the survivor) and statistics remind us that she will once again be the victim of a violent assault in the future. Most women go through years of abuse before saying "Enough". In my opinion, both camps PR machines have done a dis-service to Rhianna, Chris, and every other nameless couple who has been in this situation.
~Angela~Upon-Request
Be well & inspired.
I did sign the petition and
I did sign the petition and for me, it has nothing to do with blaming Rihanna. While the blame is clearly and should be on Chris Brown, she is no role model for children either. What is she teaching young girls about abusive relationships by staying with him? I took a ton of womens studies classes in college and I get that staying in the abusive relationship is a cycle and something very hard to get out of, but right now she's choosing to stay, and I don't want her being a role model for my daughters.
Here's a girl who has all the success she could ever want, gets beat up by her boyfriend, and takes him back. If she had walked, then yes, she's definitely a role model. Right now though, she's a crime victim, trapped in a horrible relationship, and she'll probably end up beaten up again or even worse someday soon-not a path I'd enjoy watching either of my girls take.
Link TextBlack Belt Mama