We couldn't decide whether to report on this incident or not...

Chris Brown has been filmed wildly ranting about how men should treat “their” women at the Emerson Theatre in Hollywood.

The 23-year-old singer grabbed the microphone off the DJ and spoke about how he owns Rihanna’s “pussy”.

Yep. It’s every bit as lovely as it sounds.

“Every guy in this building has said one thing to their female … If you’re not an insecure nigga, and you let her have fun with her friends, I applaud you.

But you gotta say that one thing to her, and I made this shit up. [sings] Don’t make me have to tell you again, that that’s my pussy baby! It is mine, baby, babe, mine. So you better not give it away!”

“So every person in this motherfucking building, if you got a bad bitch you better say that to her. Cause she might fuck another nigga.”

If you have the inclination to watch the video, you can see it here.

We debated about whether or not to report on this incident in our editorial meeting this morning. We have previously employed a kibosh on anything to do with Chris Brown – our opinion of him was so low that we didn’t want to give him any coverage.

In fact, when were were debating what the headline of this post was, we joked that every time we ran a story on him, the headline was “You won’t believe what Chris Brown has done now”.

And every time you think he’s crossed a line, he picks up the line hails and cab and moves the line to the next state. And then he crosses it again.

But whether you like it or not, whether it makes you vomit into your mouth or not, Chris Brown is a huge star whose celebrity continues to grow. So when someone with inarguable power and influence continues to behave in a reprehensible way, do we just ignore it? Or do we need to keep calling out his appalling views, his disgusting rhetoric and saying it’s not OK for a man to assume ownership of a woman’s ‘pussy’ or call her a ‘bad bitch’.

At a recent TED talk Elaine Lui of celebrity website, LaineyGossip.com, spoke about the sociology of gossip and the media’s relationship with Chris Brown and Rihanna.

“It’s been three years since Chris Brown assaulted Rihanna. Apparently they’re hooking up undercover and thinking about reconciling and coming out in public together. It’s a big story. Is it just a gossip story, this reconciliation?

Or, is this reconciliation of theirs a reflection of society’s attitudes about violence towards women. Many women go back to the men who abuse them. Rihanna’s story is not unique. And Rihanna is not the only person who has forgiven Chris Brown.

The recording industry has forgiven Chris Brown – he just won a Grammy. The fans has forgiven Chris Brown – he’s selling records, they’re seeing his shows, they’re watching his videos. They’ve elevated him to level of fame he’s never had before.

Who are these people, his fans? You know them. They’re your sons and daughters and granddaughters and neighbours and nephews, they’re people you live with in your community, they’re people you’ve raised. They’re us.

So in 500 years when they see that we turned this [picture of Rihanna’s beaten face] into this [picture of  Chris Brown holding a grammy], will we be judged as the society that celebrates a guy who beats a girl? Or will be celebrated as a society that forgives a guy who beats a girl?

 

So now we want to throw it over to you, is it better to not know about this or is there a broader societal issue when his music can recieve critical and popular acclaim while he beat up his girlfriend and continues to say alarming and often violent things about women?

Over to you. Thoughts?

Rihanna often Instagrams photos of her relationship with Chris Brown. Flick through the gallery below to see some of those images, as well as other pictures from the years they’ve been together: