Chris Brown and Rihanna, Admit You're Back Together Already.

Stop the presses!!  Chris Brown tweets "Happy Birthday, Robyn" for Rihanna's24th birthday!  Apparently this was one of the big entertainment stories of the day.  And yes, I have an opinion. 

It's disgusting how the media once demonized Brown for pounding Rihanna's face into a pulp during that 2009 incident while her camp bent over backwards to ensure that she publicly wash her hands of him.  Shortly after Brown made his obligatory rounds to news outlets giving his mea culpa Rihanna became the new poster girl for domestic violence.  I'd never seen such an increase in battery  PSA's and daytime talk show topics since...well, ever. (But thank you to the media coverage for helping me use the story to explain the cycle of violence to children and families).   While my experience with women in DV situations hinted that Rihanna and Chris might very well get back together I held out hope that the fallout from seeing her bloodied face would be enough to keep the pop stars a lifetime away from each other despite their professional circles.

But this is Hollywood and dollars need to be made.  It is far more lucrative for publicists to spin  the "are they or aren't they together" secret right to the bank.   Right after the incident I remember my husband telling me that they would be back together in no time.  It was clear that they were still into each other but the decision was made that poor Rih's tween-aged fans could not see their idol endorse or excuse violence.  Brown continued to go on about his music-making business and lash out at reporters who rather discuss Rihanna than his new albums.  Just ask Robin Roberts. 

Fast forward three years and here we are.  Have fans forgiven Brown?  Did Brown's 2012 Grammy win and performance absolve him from media haterade? 

And thus the Critical Black Woman is calling a spade a spade:  Chris Brown and Rihanna must publicly admit that they've been playing the hoochie coochie immediately after and since the 2009 throw down. More importantly Brown and Rihanna need to admit that they're back together and deal with the fall out of from the psychologists and DV experts.  Yes, there will be concern that reunification sets a bad example for teeny-boppers but the irony is that reunification is a part of the DV cycle.  If the woman (or man) goes back to the perpetrator there is still a chance that the perp can get help and turn his (or her) life around.

And another thing the media needs to admit that they really don't give a hoot about battered women and never cared to begin with.  Why sensationalize Brown's birthday tweet or spin stories of them secretly hooking up?  Was the compassion all BS?  Just a thought.