Singer Chris Brown performs during Chris Brown In Concert at State Farm Arena on July 14, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Prince Williams/WireImage)
Femicide and other gender-based violence (GBV) is a boundless rot in our society without any colour, class or cultural restrictions. It has eaten away at South Africa’s moral core until that which is rotten is considered almost normal.
Chris “Breezy” Brown’s money and fame cannot be fig leaves to hide — or excuse — the serious incidents of GBV that he has perpetrated. He is a serial offender surrounded by an entourage of individuals who are also known to perpetrate violence.
Giving him a platform to perform in South Africa contributes to normalising his abnormalities — and, therefore, our own — and is a step in the wrong direction in our fight against GBV in South Africa.
“Why focus on Chris Brown?” some ask, dismissing opposition to his visit as “cancel culture”.
The simple answer is that the American singer-songwriter and dancer is a symbol of misogyny and GBV. The problem we face is much bigger than him but making it clear that he is unwelcome here will contribute to combating the structural oppression of women everywhere. Oppression that is reinforced by Brown’s defenders and others.
Why, then, do men and women who would ordinarily call out GBV defend abhorrent Brown? After all, this is not the first resistance he has encountered. He has already been banned from entering Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK.
These are countries with a fraction of our GBV and femicide rates.
It is surely time for South Africans to show similar spine and draw a line in the sand in our fight for change.
The extent of our problem is unconscionable. Over the past three months, crime statistics reveal, 966 women were murdered and more than 13 000 cases of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm were reported to police.
Each of those women is more deserving of being heard than a serial violent offender like Chris Brown. But he gets the platform while their plight is ignored.
Brown claims to be a “changed man”, as abusers often do. They claim to have experienced a Damascene conversion, acknowledge the errors of their ways, and promise to do better.
But evidence of this supposed change is scant. In fact, the evidence with respect to Brown suggests the opposite.
His trolling of the social media account of the NGO Women For Change is instructive. One might think that knowing he faced some opposition in South Africa would cause him to tread with some caution.
But what does he do? He proceeds to antagonise the NGO rather than engage in dialogue or ignore the call for protest. Brown knows the influence his words and actions have on his millions of followers. These are not the actions of a man who takes the scourge of femicide and GBV seriously.
Encouraged by his bad behaviour, his fans have taken it upon themselves to harass, intimidate and distract the crucial organisations that serve our victims of GBV and Femicide.
This is a prime example of how platforming unreformed individuals has a negative impact on grassroots organisations that are serious about tackling one of the most egregious dysfunctions of our unequal society — brutal violence against women.
This violence, unchecked by a dysfunctional criminal justice system, is reinforced by a patriarchal hegemony that turns a blind eye towards serial abusers such as Chris.
Allowing Brown to perform in South Africa is the opposite of the government’s policy pretence of zero tolerance for GBV.
The GBV and femicide bills passed a few months ago do not speak of “exceptions”. Zero tolerance is the phrase they use.
What type of immorality are we practising when we refuse to grant a visa to a holy man, the Dalai Lama, but roll out the red carpet for Brown?
At the end of this month, the world will watch and listen as a new alleged victim shares her story in the documentary titled Chris Brown: A History of Violence by Investigation Discovery.
His performance should not take place. Allowing him to encapsulate the notion that consequences can be avoided — the very opposite of the message that we should be sending.
The music industry is facing a wider reckoning; South Africans must face a few ugly truths. Brown’s violence might be different to the crimes of Diddy and R. Kelly, but they’re in the same messaging group.
If we say we must no longer tolerate GBV, we cannot be providing opportunities for perps to exploit us for financial gain.
Kaden Aguile is the national youth chairperson for the Good party.