Oh Rihanna
By now I'm sure all of you have seen the bruised and battered face of Rihanna. In case you haven't, it is below. Normally I put photos on top of what I write, but in this case, thought I would give you the option of scrolling past it. I posted the photo because it is newsworthy, but it really saddens me that it was released. The LAPD is investigating how the photo got sent to TMZ which is the first agency that managed to get a hold of the photo.
To me, I don't care how famous someone is or how newsworthy, it is still essentially a private matter. I know that I wouldn't want my photo released to the world to see what had happened to me. For the rest of time this photo will be on the internet and will be available for the world to see. When Rihanna is 50 and has kids and grand kids they will all be able to see what happened.
As I post the photo I'm wondering if I'm a hypocrite for posting it. If someone had sent it to me and I could have been the first to post it I guess I would have. It doesn't make it right though. Although celebrities give up many of their rights of privacy by placing themselves in the public eye, I think sometimes there has to be a line drawn. I'm not sure where that line is, but this seems really close to it.
53 comments:
Poor Rihanna, I agree. Famous or not, TMZ shouldn't have victimized her again.
Everything about this, everything, just ain't cool.
does anyone think that this photo was used to 'silence' brown's reps? "like the proof is in the pudding..."
mind you that a day or two after, her swelling would make this pic more awful.
QS - not to mention when the bruises came out.....
And Ent unfortunately we live in a world where people feel the need to see all...all of us on here included. Tis the nature of the beast.
i agree. this isn't cool...
but kudos to you enty for admitting you would've posted it if you'd received it first.
just a sad story all around, famous or not famous. imagine what her face looked like the following day....yikes
Anyone notice on TMZ, that they are keeping this photo/story on the top of the page? The 'new' stories are being posted below it.
Nice.
Yeah, this is over the line, but I can understand publishing it now.
i kinda think that rihanna's people secretly released the photo. After Brown's ridiculous "apology" and all of the ignorant people defending Brown and blasting Rihanna, they wanted to send a message. I dont see how anyone could be defending Brown after seeing this photo.
As much as this is horrifying to see and how undignified it is to show the state she has been put in, it is still a necessary evil. This picture needed to be out there so people would not forget what was done to this poor child and to not allow anyone's (in this case CB)celebrity status be impervious to prosecution.
It is a double-edged sword: victim's privacy butting-up against justice, and in this case, people need to never forget the outcome. It is immortalized now. Sadly necessary.
I heard on the radio this morning that today is Rhianna's 21st birthday. Must be awful to wake up to this, unless Katie is right and her people are the ones who released it.
She looks awful and I'm so sad for her that she had to go through this. She looks a lot worse than I expected. I hope there is some justice or some good comes of this.
and to have it come out today ....on her 21st birthday...nice
I posted this picture on YouTube last night when it was released by TMZ.com. No way am I feeling guilty for posting it. You see, when TMZ posted that clip of Brown getting arrested a while back, I uploaded that clip to YouTube too. That video currently has over 1,100 comments. I was shocked to see how many girls were still behind Brown after what he did to Rihanna. Some went on to praise him, while some said she deserved it, some even suggested she gave him herpes. Luckily, not all of them were "stupid." A lot of people left comments how he was wrong and so on. By me uploading that picture, it was to alert those naive kids that violence is never the answer.
I'm actually glad that photo was released by TMZ to the public. When you're rich and famous, you can practically get away with anything. Now that the public has seen what happened to the victim, I want to see to this case will be handled. Especially with rumors circulating around the web that Rihanna still wants to be with Chris, I want to see how this assault will be explained.
Rihanna can fight Chris in court and she can easily be a "spokesperson" for women all over the world, especially in the US. Every day, tons and tons of women are being abused but they are keeping it a secret. A lot of them fear there partners. Since she's famous, it will teach those young women to speak up and stand up to domestic violence instead to staying shut and pretending like nothing ever happened.
I do not care what kind of past Brown had whatsoever; it does not justify him brutally assaulting that young lady. I'm not saying she's innocent(we don't know the full story) but assaulting this young lady like this was beyond wrong on every singe level.
Sure her kids and grand kids will see that pic later on, but you know what? They can proudly say that their mother/grandmother stood up to domestic violence. They can say it with pride!(Of course that's if Rihanna stands up to Chris Brown)
Oh and I'm not a female. I just felt the need to speak up on this situation. I lurk here daily and I do read the comments.
Hi, RakeshR. I agree with you and Marilyn. I think it's a good thing the pic came out so that people could no longer say that Chris was innocent. In the long run, I think it will be better for Rihanna, because it will make it harder for her to rationalize going back to him.
I think we all knew a picture like this would come out eventually - just a matter of time. Poor girl. I too wonder if this was deliberatly leaked to prove that her injuries were substantial.
Chris Brown better continue to lay low.
Happy Birthday to you
You look black and blue
Dont take back that lame ass..
And get your lawyers to sue!
OK, I’m going to just throw it out there. Actually, let me start off by saying that I come from an abusive marriage. I was married for 13 years and lets just say the ex was abusive in many ways. He was very careful though, not to hit the face and he knew I would cover up the bruises on the body. Nobody would know for years; he isolated me from the world, and with three little kids and working full time I was a robot for a long, long time. I lived in a very dark place, I was all alone during that time because I was ASHAMED. The psychological cycle of spousal abuse is complex and difficult to understand…I could go on and on.
My point here is that believe it or not, in a strange way this is actually GOOD for Rhianna. I say this because in my case, when the ex’s abuse spilled into my professional life, everyone knew. I couldn’t hide the shame of it. I had family and friends who I had to answer to – You’re putting up with this mother-f*!cker for what reason now? It was at that time when I finally walked out with the kids. I guarrantee you she hid the abuse for the same reason. Shame. In my case, I was hiding it from my little world; Rhianna hid it from the whole world. And now, there is absolutely no excuse, no reason, no chance for Chris to manipulate her into going back with him. Because she won’t just have to answer to the people in her immediate world….she has to answer to ALL OF US.
I think its horrible that the picture leaked this way. Its just another blow in the gut for this girl, and I feel for her so very much. Sure, her grandkids will see it – and hopefully everyone can reflect on this and focus on how she finally escaped this abusive piece of sh!t…I will be SHOCKED if she ever gave him another chance. The sad truth is that many, many women do – that’s why these men continue to release their anger on them…because then can.
LOL! Love it, Ror.
the worst part was he stole her wig
To: Marilyn, and Mooshki I agree with both of you.
Lila I agree with you and congratulations for getting out of and staying away from an abusive relationship.
I'm praying that she doesn't go back to him.
I hope Chris gets a good ass whipping!
Enty yes in this case you should post the picture. It might save a victim's life.
So glad you got out of that situation, Lila. Geez, this stuff makes me cry. I have a friend who is one of the country's most respected forensic nurses, she travels the nation teaching domestic violence awareness and has seen some pretty gruesome stuff. Unfortunately, she has seen a lot of girls go back to their abusers even after pressing charges, and it's happening to younger and younger girls.
In a way I'm glad it was leaked. It'll be harder for her to go back to him I think. As far as it crossing the line, I hope it's her saving grace. I also feel like if it had been just an "everyday person" there would be no controversy over the leak at all, IMO. Hopefully she can turn this into a positive, and stand up for herself against her abuser. She'd be a very influential spokesperson.
bruises come and go but the internet lasts forever.
i'm glad for rhianna's sake this came out. embarassing? yes. life saving? probably. who knows what could have happened if a witness didn't call 911.
I'm glad you got out Lila. Hopefully, your children learned they don't deserve to live that way either. Good luck to you. :-)
I agree with Lila and the others who say this is what she needed. She needs to be reminded of this if she even thinks of going back to him.
You gotta wonder how many times this has happened to her in the past. I'm betting it's not the first.
Maybe if the everyday ordinary people had their picture posted on the internet it might also end their cycle of abuse.
There was a woman on Oprah whose husband made their son tape him abusing her. She said the only way she was able to prosecute him in the end was because a co worker documented her accounts of abuse.
I bet she would have been grateful for an internet picture of her when she decided to prosecute and needed to prove her case.
Lila -I agree with you that this may actually be good for Rhianna.
Years ago, my roomates sister arrived from Alaska to stay with us for awhile. She came to us in a truck that looked like it had barely survived a demolition derby, carrying a polaroid taken of herself, bruised, bloody and swollen: Her boyfriend had beat her up, then tried to stop her from leaving by ramming his vehicle into her truck, over and over. She kept the truck and the picture to remind herself why she had left, because she knew there would times when her memory would deceive her into believing that she was overreacting.
I hope Rhianna has the right kind of people around her to get through this - she should not be ashamed, but mad as hell.
Sadly, both young girls and grown women need to see photographs like this. Women like Rihanna who are beautiful, famous and widely emulated can be brutalized. Celebrity does not grant immunity to violence, and the lid needs to be blown off this bullshit, once and for all.
That said, this has to be the worst time for her. She's SO young and just lovely... ugh. This whole thing is just disgusting.
Lila, I'm also so glad you finally were able to get out of that situation.
This photo will just open the flood gates for all those that support Rhianna and hopefully shut up those that have been supporting Chris Brown. Sometimes truth is ugly, but seeing it clearly can have a huge influence in ones life. Peace.
It's just shocking how many people (men and women) think hitting a weaker person is a reasonable thing to do. Maybe this will make some of them think.
i really love your blog Ent, but please, for the love of everything that's good, please take her photo down or put it behind a cut. it's just not right and you know it.
how do we know she didn't WANT this picture out there? the only side we've heard from is his. this pretty much takes the wind out of his sails by showing just what happened.
after hearing her dad's rather lukewarm response to the picture being out, i find it hard to believe it wasn't okayed with her 'side' first.
if she comes out swinging and suing LAPD or something for this picture, i'll change my opinion but i'm just suggesting she may not be that upset about it.
It's better to face the facts instead of hiding from them.
I agree with the others...having the photo out in public will (hopefully) force her to stand up for herself and not take him back. She is a public figure and knows that so many younger women and girls look up to her. I don't see how she can take him back and essentially 'say' to these women and girls that this is ok.
If she can't see that, I am sure someone from her camp will make sure she does.
also, I know it takes a while for bruising to show, but does it look like markings on her neck from being strangled, or just shadows?
Just typing that made me sad :(
Sometimes secrets need to come out in the open. Now Chris Brown will never get a pass on this and Rihanna is less likely to go back to him or enter into another abusive relationship because EVERYONE knows what he did to her.
Liza the picture is not exploiting Rihanna. Enty might as well keep it up as it is all over the internet. I was pretty shocked that Oprah showed it today because she is very cautious about lawsuits.
The general consensus is that the picture is here to support Rihanna. We were all afraid that she might get back together with Chris.
We're hoping and praying that with this picture and everyone's support she will make the decision to stay away from him and get the help that she needs.
Embarassing and shameful it may be, I hope she'll grow some confidence from seeing these pictures of herself and make sure that everyone who ever deals with Chris Brown knows and that he guy never gets to continue life as if nothing happened. I have seen a couple of situations similar, and it pisses me off to no end when abuse like that does not get acknowledged and treated with consequences.
I know there are a couple of Swedes on this site and you may remember several years back when that young boy (don't remember his name now) was beaten to death by a bunch of skinheads...and his dad published the picture of the boys' dead, beaten black and blue body in the newspaper so people could see what actually happens when you beat someone. It was quite the controversy but I think he did the right thing...we are so desensitized to violence from all the movies we see where people get shot, punched, stomped on, and they keep getting back up. Real life is not like that and sometimes I think it takes graphic pictures to make people understand.
Please either take the photo down or put it behind a link. It's very jarring to the system scrolling to this photo unexpectedly.
I wrote a response to this story but for whatever reason, my post did not show up. I don't know if that is on purpose or a glitch. I'd like to think it's due to a glitch.
The truth is ugly sometimes but a picture can boldly underscore a bad situation or social problem that would take months or years to get a proactive reaction from people. I say "Very Brave of you Enty".
Jesus. Poor baby.
This is evidence from PD. Evidence is not given to any victim or their "people." It came from PD and they're investigating who in the dept leaked it.
It's too big a coincidence for this to come out now that everyone is gossiping about her going back to Chris. I think this was definitely leaked by her people so that she will have even more reasons (not that she needs them) not to go back to him. I get the impression that someone close wants her never to forget what happened to her - or for time to make it seem less than it was. To be honest, i hope her camp also took photos at the height of the swelling/bruising so that she sees the full effect whenever she thinks about getting back with that asshole. Usually the only way to break the cycle of shame is for it to be made public.
It could also be answering all the spinning that Brown's party has been doing - but in a passive way that speaks more than any words could. This is hard evidence, not some BS story about herpies.
If they didn't want this out, you know there would be hell to pay given the very personal nature. The word lawsuit would have already been mentioned by now.
I say "Very Brave of you Enty"
I second this. Also it is very rare to find a gossip site that has a conscience, and it speaks volumes that you actually thought about the consequences of your actions.
Just another reason to love the big guy <3
BlahFrickinBlah, glitch. Nothing here ever gets deleted on purpose. :)
well excuse me, but i know if her 'people' wanted this out, there are ways they could make it happen. if you don't know that, you don't know shit about police departments, especially in big cities.
i'm a little confused as to why some people seem to think this is the most disturbing photo they've ever seen. this is what domestic abuse looks like and it happens every single day.
The photo is definitely disturbing.
Lol, Ror.
And still there are voices out there saying that she deserved it, that she provoked him, that he didn't really do this to her. How could he? He's Chris Brown who is talented and has money and is sooooo hot--or that this whole thing has been blown out of proportion---look and learn...fists hurt when they hit you.
I agree with Harriet Hellfire, I will be the first to admit that maybe due to being desensitized via all the outporing of media we have i view vilence and death and sex in a cynical detached way. Honestly when i heard about Rihanna + Chris B. my thoughts have been ones of incredulity as I have never witnessed someone throw their career away or seen a famous person that exposed without agents sugercoating or sheilding us from the many vices hollywood has. It was frankly facinating to me that this was all happening. But no longer.
When i saw this yesterday i sat there for several moments and just obsorbed what this baby had gone through. Her facial expression and everything else is so powerful and i felt very ashamed that i had for one moment forgotten that this was a young woman who went through something no woman should ever go through. And for that feeling of being snapped awake from my apathy I am glad personally that enty and all the others posted this.
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