Okay Chris, Fine. I'll Give You a Chance

Forget the #TeamChris and #TeamRihanna phenemenon for a second. I was NEVER a part of either team. I don't support domestic violence and because the details of the event were fuzzy, I chose to not support either of them. Now, I understand that a good person forgives, but I didn't feel like either of their first statements were sincere.

What happened between Chris Brown and Rihanna is none of my business, nor did I care to know. I was just upset because these two people serve as icons and role models for kids who don't have ANYONE else to look to. I was upset at how they allowed themselves to show anything but their best behavior to these kids. Especially to kids who have witnessed domestic violence, this incident just served as further reinforcement that violence is okay.

But this...this is raw emotion. It's raw sincerity. It's authentic remorse. After seeing this performance, I couldn't keep my guard up any longer. I appreciate the fact that he gave his all in this performance, allowed himself to look like a punk on national television and showed himself to be humble and thankful when he won an award at the end of the show.

Now, while I am still not #TeamChris, nor #TeamRihanna, I am willing to give Chris Brown another chance. This performance reminded me why I liked him in the first place, and his emotion reminded me that everyone makes mistakes. I hope that he's taken the past year to get himself together, find real help and truly think about the terrible thing that he did...because I didn't want to stop liking him. I loved his music, but I fundamentally could not let myself support him after his dirty laundry aired.

Now, before everyone starts saying, "I was with him through it all," think about what you're saying. Because I definitely had some words for a few of you back when everyone was saying "Rihanna probably provoked him. She deserved it." (Yes, I did hear that disgusting comment on more than one occasion.) I appreciate his candidness and I appreciate how he honored Michael Jackson. He hasn't completely won me to his "team," but I'm open to checking him out.

Now, this isn't a celebrity/pop culture blog, so I'm NOT even going to get started on Alicia "Homewrecker" Keys. I'm sorry, but I'm just not the type of person who can separate the person from their music. If you are fortunate enough to be placed in a position where millions listen to what you have to sing or say...you must also realize that you are serving as a role model for those millions of people, too. It's not fair that their personal lives have to be on display, but with great power comes great responsibility.