People are not forgiving. We aren't.
We all like to pretend we are, but we aren't. We hold grudges, and we talk behind peoples' backs, and we hold things over peoples' heads. It's human nature, and it's terrible, but that's just the way things are. We get hurt and we can't just let that go. Forgive and forget? I don't think such a thing exists. I think we're all really, really good at pretending it does.
So when a celebrity makes a mistake, no matter how monumental (or on the flipside, insignificant) it may be, it's like career suicide. Which is terrible for a number of reasons, not the least of which being that celebrities are humans and mistakes happen. Should he have said that? No. Should she have done that? No. Does it affect me personally? Usually not.
Why do we care?
(We care because celebrities spend 90% of their time screaming "Look at me! Look at me! Care about the work I'm doing!" That whole practice comes back to bite them when they slip up and want everyone to turn the other way. They've made their beds and unfortunately, we all stand back with our arms crossed and our brows raised and critique the way they've done it.)
So when Chris Brown did something completely unspeakable and terrible (let's not kid ourselves, what he did was disgusting), we all kind of said, "Well, it was nice until we learned you're a complete jerk. Later, CB." It's unfortunate, because that kid is crazy-talented. I'm talking, like, once-in-a-generation talented. Now, I'm not saying that we shouldn't have judged so harshly. We absolutely should have. I'm just saying that with 'celebrity', sometimes the art gets overshadowed by the image (don't get me started on the role marketing and promotion plays in all this). The wires get crossed and we immediately say Chris-Brown-The-Idiot is the same as Chris-Brown-The-Artist.
They are not the same thing. The guy can still sing and dance like nobody's business, but Chris-Brown-The-Idiot made Chris-Brown-The-Artist's audience turn their backs.
I've been waiting all along for him to do something to bring the positive attention back to him. Does he deserve a universal "We forgive you"? Probably not. Does he deserve a universal second chance? Yes. He's a person. A young person at that. He's going to make mistakes like anyone else. The fact that there are cameras in his face and people watching his every move doesn't change the fact that he's still a 21 year old kid. His mistakes are his to make and learn from.
I'm not saying the mistake he made is justifiable - absolutely not - I'm just saying that maybe instead of being closed minded, people should stand back, say, "Okay. Prove you're worth the second chance, kid," and watch him perform.
And then the BET awards come along and he puts on a tribute to Michael Jackson that is so impressive it's almost hard to watch. He didn't take the selfish route and try to outdo MJ. He imitated him, in just about the least cheesy way possible. He proved he can dance better than the best of them (which we already knew from his MTV Video Awards performance a few years ago). Then he sings an incredible song with the perfect message, breaks down in an honest way (no publicity stunt here, people). That means more to the public than any apology he could have spoken on any talk show.
The irony? All he's probably wanted all along is for people to listen to his music, watch his performances, and no one would give him the chance. And now it's a performance that has everyone talking about him in a positive way again.
Good on him for that one. And good on BET for giving him the chance to perform his apology.
Now tell me art isn't the most important and influential thing in the world.
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chris brown,
michael jackson
