Everyone will probably see the irony of this story, and I also see the new development of what happened between Frank Ocean and Chris Brown as an ongoing popularity experiment.
After saying he may pursue criminal charges against Chris Brown, Frank Ocean finally decided he won’t. The singer posted this on his Tumblr last Saturday to explain his intention:
‘As a child I thought if someone jumped me it would result in me murdering or mutilating a man. But as a man I am not a killer. I'm an artist and a modern person. I'll choose sanity. No criminal charges. No civil lawsuit.’
It’s very noble and all, and it’s his choice, but is it the right one? I wonder what made Ocean change his mind as the police said that he ‘desired prosecution’ when the brawl happened.
The irony of all this comes from an Instagram posted by Chris Brown showing one of his recent paintings: three Jesus Christ on the cross followed by the comment ‘Painting the way I feel today. Focus on what matters!’ So Brown feels persecuted when we all know his past, and his claim he is the crucified victim in the story sounds even more ironic when Ocean plays the magnanimous part, and forgives him,… a very Christ-like gesture.
Whatever happened that night, this last development shows the gulf that separates these two men’s intelligence.
Brown plays one more time the victim, and does not hesitate to compare himself to the biggest victim of all. And three times by the way, but he can’t help himself, even as a victim he has to look good! God, these Jesus’ abs could audition for the next Abercrombie commercial! As a result, more hatred for him, and he had to close his Twitter account one more time, not without one of his egocentric full-of himself grandiloquence: ‘Social media takes away the essence of why we are even special or icons. So with that, I'm detaching myself from that world’. Brown appears like the stupid one in the story.
On the other hand, Frank Ocean was considered as ‘the victim’ by the police, but he doesn’t play one; even better, he forgives his aggressor, the ultimate generous act that will draw the admiration of everyone. He is definitively the smart one.
But what will this mean for their respective careers?
Frank Ocean’s career is on the rise and whether he is sincere or not when he writes about forgiveness, whether he is telling the truth or not about what happened, whether this clever move and elegant phrasing is just a PR stunt or not, it’s very good for him, no doubt about it.
If most people don’t care about all this when they listen to Brown’s music, I guess that, after a while, it won’t help him. There’s not a week without a few Chris Brown’s stories, and just Saturday he was again in the news for a speeding ticket in Beverly Hills, not a big deal, but his arrogant attitude adds up to the picture at the end. He is always in the news for something either awkward and silly (the Jesus comparison) or plain violent and awful (the beatings). He still has plenty of followers and admirers, and still gets invited to Awards shows, but for how long?
As I say, I am seeing all this as an experiment, how long can an audience worship a brutal idiot? History will tell if the public has any good common sense left.