Last week, Australian authorities formally warned Chris Brown that they are contemplating barring entrance into the country over his domestic violence record. The controversial singer was originally scheduled to play four big shows in the country in December, but now has slightly over three weeks to present material to the authorities arguing why he should get a visa. Chances of him being granted this visa are slim, if Minister for Women Michaelia Cash has anything to do with it.
People need to understand–if you are going to commit domestic violence and then you want to travel around the world, there are going to be countries that say to you, ‘You cannot come in because you are not of the character that we expect in Australia.
It’s not the first time Brown’s abusive record has followed him. He was previously barred from entering the UK shortly after his conviction in 2010, and more recently was denied entry to Canada in 2015. Apparently foreign countries aren’t too keen on letting outed abusers cross their borders, no matter their degree of personal success.
Brown is also not the first entertainer denied entry based on a past criminal record. Floyd Mayweather was denied entrance into Australia earlier this year due to a plethora of domestic abuse citations and arrests. Mike Tyson has been denied entry to the UK after numerous rape and domestic abuse charges. In some cases, even insinuating acts of violence is enough to get you barred from entering a country, as was the case with Tyler the Creator who was banned for violent lyrical content in his songs.
The bans send a necessary message, especially when you consider that one out of four women will experience domestic abuse in their lifetime, and most of the violence that women endure is inflicted by their husbands or boyfriends. It’s admirable that many immigration offices around the world have responded by barring men who have a violent history with women from their borders, despite their celebrity status.
It’s certainly different from U.S. discourse in dealing with celebrity abusers, whose work is often valued more than their abhorrent behavior is vilified. Mayweather is one of the most celebrated and wealthy athletes of our time, and many of Chris Brown’s albums have gone platinum, earning him 189 awards in his ten year career. The blocking of these individuals is proof that the rich and powerful aren’t allowed to duck a tide of abuse convictions, even if they’re household names.
But what’s missing from this narrative is the way in which we vilify and hold accountable Black male abusers and don’t do the same for white men with equally terrible track records.
Bill Murray is one of the most beloved actors of all time and has a history of repeated, violent abuse against his ex wife Jennifer Murray. Woody Allen has been the recipient of a lifetime achievement award. Roman Polanski raped a 13 year old girl and has won an Oscar to standing ovation. John Lennon has confessed to battering women. Charlie Sheen has gone so far as to shoot a woman. The list, unfortunately, goes on and on.
Additionally, if Australia is laying down the law for Brown, one would hope that they would also deny artists such as Black Sabbath, Eminem, and Motley Crue from performing, as their members have a dark domestic abuse history. Ozzy Osbourne of Black Sabbath nearly choked his wife to death. Eminem’s misogyny is widely documented, and he has a list of violent lyrics to show for it. Tommy Lee of Motley Crue was sentenced to jail time after kicking his former partner. All of these artists are scheduled to perform in Australia over the next year.
The activist group that sparked the protest to ban Brown from the country recognized this, and released an apology, stating,
The intention of the campaign against Chris Brown was to use a celebrity with a well-known history of violence against women to ignite a discussion about attitudes towards gendered violence. Aspects of this succeeded but we now understand the campaign also supported a racist narrative that sees men of colour unfairly targeted, and stereotyped as more violent than their white counterparts. We all should stand up to any man who commits violence against women, but Australia has a history of arbitrary executive decisions and disproportionate exclusion of non-white people at its borders and upon reflection our approach contributed to this.
It’s important that we continue to hold celebrities accountable for their actions, and it’s admirable that some countries have banned abusers from crossing the border. There is no doubt that Chris Brown, and Floyd Mayweather’s actions are despicable, but in attempts to send a message to abusers, direct actions need to be taken to ensure it is being applied to all men, not just men of color.
Danika is a musician and writer from the northwest. You can listen to her music here, read her work here, or laugh at her slew of her bad selfies here.
(image via Shutterstock)
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Published: Oct 5, 2015 02:46 pm