The man who battered and bruised Rihanna 3 years ago can now be heard on her new sexually charged “Birthday Cake” remix, released Monday. Chris Brown raps about wanting to “f**k” her and “give it to her in the worst way,” in the unedited version of the song.
Listeners can also hear Rihanna’s vocals featured on Chris Brown’s remix of “Turn Up The Music,” which was released Monday.
While some fans have expressed acceptance and even excitement about the collaboration, others are outraged, announcing their loss of respect for Rihanna after seemingly welcoming her former abuser back into her life.
“Deleted Rihanna off my iPod. Not being associated with that imbecile in any capacity,” one Twitter user wrote.
“Ladies, don’t be like Rihanna… if a man beats you stay away, call the cops, get help. Don’t let him remix your face or your song,” another wrote.
“Rihanna owes better to her millions of female fans than to sing/dance on stage with a man who put her in hospital,” said another.
Without knowing the full details of the continuing saga between Rihanna and Chris Brown, experts weighed in on the rekindled music relationship. While some said the revived couple is inappropriate and dangerous, others suggest that Rihanna may have healed from the experience and now feels empowered to separate business and personal relationships.
“It is always a little worrisome to see an abused woman re-admit her abuser into her life,” said Alan Hilfer, chief psychologist at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn. “As psychologists, we are always working to get people to change their behaviors and hope we can be successful. We advocate the ability to forgive, but not necessarily forget.”
Rihanna seemed to allude to the situation with her former boyfriend Tuesday while accepting best international female artist at the Brit Awards.
“At times when I feel misunderstood, my fans always remind me that it’s O.K. to be myself,” she said during her speech.
Martin Binks, clinical director and CEO of Binks Behavioral Health, said women who are victims of abuse do not have to remain victims of their abuser forever. Perhaps Rihanna is strong enough to make that separation.
“Why must we insist on disempowering victims by questioning their judgment without all the facts?” said Binks. “People may be forgetting that perhaps she has recovered and is a strong independent woman who is empowered enough to make this decision thoughtfully and without there being some pathological explanation.”
“Only she and her therapist are qualified to have an opinion on this topic, in my opinion,” he said.
(((Before we get into this… keep in mind, Rihanna admitted she hit Chris Brown first, and has a history of violence herself. So do you think people who commit acts of domestic violence can change and should be given a second chance? Ladies [and men] would you take back your significant other after they’ve beaten you up?)))
