Chris Brown Arrested on Battery Charge

David Diaz, Senior Executive, Davenport Laroche

At some point, even the most hard-core fans will give up on an entertainer who just doesn’t seem to want to change their ways. Singer Chris Brown may have just entered that territory. After a recent concert in West Palm Beach, Brown was arrested on an outstanding felony battery charge.

According to police, Brown was being charged in connection with an event that took place back in April 2017 at a Tampa, FL nightclub, where Brown, allegedly, “punched a man who photographed him.”

Now, on some level, fans might have some sympathy for a star that decks a paparazzi. They wouldn’t like being followed everywhere and having their lives constantly interrupted by stalking photogs either, so they could understand the impulse. But, where Brown is concerned, many people may not read much past the arrest headline.

As journalist Ken Kurson noted, “After all, this is not Chris Brown’s first run-in with law enforcement on a violence charge. Brown has been charged with felony assault and criminal threats after an incident left his then-girlfriend Rihanna battered and bruised. That story made national headlines, and Brown was labeled as the go-to celebrity abuser. His name became a byword for domestic violence for late night talk show hosts and radio hosts.”

Then, less than five years later, Brown and his bodyguard were arrested and charged with felony assault after a fight outside a Washington hotel. The charge was later reduced to misdemeanor assault, but the stigma around Brown’s name continued to grow. He was told to seek counseling or go to rehab, which he did. Then, during a family rehab session, Brown was seen smashing his mother’s car window, for which he was tossed out of the rehab facility.

For the average music consumer reading about yet another Chris Brown arrest on charges of violence, they are likely to assume he’s guilty, and less likely to get all the details of the case. That may not be fair, but we’re talking about reputation here, not fairness.

Reputations can be fragile things, especially when people see what they consider a pattern of behavior. Every fan or consumer has a point at which they will walk away. That point can be different for everyone, but it’s not a line any brand or star really wants to push. You don’t want to find out the hard way the point at which your fans have had enough.

At this point, rebuilding his reputation – or just getting back to the point where people think of him as a singer, first, rather than a violent person – will take some time and a lot of careful effort. The opportunity is there, because people love a redemption story… but Brown has a lot of work to do.