Singer Chris Brown appeared before a Washington judge Wednesday along with his bodyguard Christopher Hollosy, facing assault charges stemming from an incident outside the W hotel in October 2013.
Brown and Hollosy were offered plea deals which would charge each of them with only one count of simple assault. But since video surveillance from the incident still hasn't been entered into evidence, and Brown's bodyguard is only facing one count of assault to begin with, lawyers for Brown and Hollosy said they are rejecting the current plea deal at this time.
Both sides agreed to meet again on February 20. That would give both legal teams ample time to review the evidence once it is available and negotiate a possible plea deal.
Brown's lawyers have requested a waiver of appearance for him for the February court date, citing the singer's current enrollment in rehab for anger management. To appear in court would cause Brown to miss up to three days of treatment, his lawyers argued, delaying his completion of the program.
Brown faces 180 days in jail and a fine of up to $1,000 if convicted in Washington, but the singer's real legal troubles are in California. Brown has been on probation for charges stemming from 2009, when he brutally attacked his then-girlfriend Rihanna.
A judge in California recently revoked Brown's probation, but since Brown was already in a treatment program for anger management and completing his community service requirements, it had limited immediate effect.
The charges against Brown in Washington could influence the judge's decision on whether or not the R&B sensation has to serve jail time once he completes his rehabilitation.
His next court date in California is set for February 10, presumably before his legal woes in Washington will be settled.
Sunday night, R&B star Chris Brown, who has been keeping a low profile since pleading guilty last year in the assault case involving his former girlfriend Rihanna, broke down while performing a surprise tribute to Michael Jackson at the BET Awards.
The BET Awards audience was very much on Brown's side, helping him sing the lyrics to "Man in the Mirror" when he was overcome with emotion. But if reaction from pop culture observers and commenters is any indicator, he still has a ways to go.
"Blubbering Chris Brown steals show at BET Awards," sneered PopEater.com in its headline.
The Los Angeles Times ran a survey on its Goldderby awards website, headlining the story, "Was Chris Brown faking it at the BET Awards?"
Though close to 40 percent believed he was completely sincere, about 21 percent said he was faking -- and another 12 percent believed he was overdoing his emotion and overwhelmed by it at the same time. (A similar question is being asked by HLN's "Showbiz Tonight.")
Kirthana Ramisetti, managing editor of the pop culture site Predicto.com, says that Brown may have pushed things too far with the "Man in the Mirror" performance, which followed a series of dance routines to other Jackson songs.
"I think people felt, in terms of the dance tribute he did, I think people enjoyed that and were reminded that in spite of his past behavior and actions that he's a talented person," she says. "But when he started crying, you get a mixed reaction as to what's motivating that."
The theories about a calculating Brown don't surprise Janee Bolden, senior editor of the African-American celebrity gossip site Bossip.com
"Everybody's been very critical of every move he's made since the incident before the Grammys," she says.
But, she says, there was plenty of support for Brown at the awards show, and she believes it's a "great first step" in reviving his career.
"It was one of the best performances of the night," she says. "Everybody stopped what they were doing and watched, and you kept hearing over and over again [from his fellow performers] 'Chris Brown is back' and 'Let's give him a chance.' "
It's been a challenging year for Brown, to say the least. The Rihanna assault, which took place the night before the Grammy Awards, made the singer a pariah to many of the fans who had helped put him on top of the charts.
Last August, six months after the Rihanna incident, he was sentenced to serve five years probation and to spend more than 1,400 hours in "labor-oriented service" for the assault conviction. He worked 32 days of hard labor in Richmond, Virginia, according to that city's police chief.
A restraining order requiring Brown to stay 50 yards away from Rihanna, 10 yards if the two are at the same industry event, remains in place until 2014.
His career has yet to reach its former heights. In December, he released his latest album, "Graffiti." Reviews were, at times, merciless -- the Chicago Sun-Times Jim DeRogatis called it "thoroughly mediocre and at times just garbage" -- and to date, it has sold fewer than 500,000 copies, poor even in a time of diminished album sales. None of its singles have hit the Billboard Top 10.
Authorities haven't been much kinder. In early June, British officials barred him from entering the United Kingdom to perform, a decision based on the Rihanna case.
Brown, who turned 21 at the beginning of May, often hasn't helped his case. He's been a frequent social network user, often using services to either apologize or vent -- that is, when he wasn't leaving them entirely. (He quit Twitter late last year, only to rejoin in March.)
He apologized again at the BET Awards, telling the crowd, "I let you down before but I won't do it again, I promise."
"I think Chris Brown needs to stop being on the defensive, and just let his talent speak for itself," says Ramisetti. After all, she notes, any number of celebrities have made mistakes, but the public is generally forgiving -- if you give them time to forgive.
Bolden, whose site has made much of every Brown misstep, adds that he should take things slowly and more quietly.
"He's just a kid, and that's what people have to remember," she says. "You really don't want to do anything, if you're in his position, that reminds people of what happened. ... Only time will tell. Hopefully he can mature a little bit. There needs to be somebody in his camp guiding him to be a little more careful."
Perhaps Gucci, a commenter on the Bossip site, put it best:
"I think he's been forgiven a while ago. ... He just hasn't forgiven himself," and "that's why he won't act like he has damn sense," the commenter wrote.
"Stop with the [Twitter] rants, the pointless interviews, and the [whining] and just dance!"
Mary J. Blige punched husband Kendu Isaacs in the face at her record release party at club M2 Tuesday night.
The singer slugged Isaacs, drawing blood, after she thought he was flirting with a waitress.
"She turned to him and was screaming, 'You're not going to ruin my night,' " our witness says.
"They got up in each other's faces before someone tried to separate them, at which point she shoved the guy aside, pulled back and popped [Isaacs] in the face."
The source said Blige, Isaacs and their entourage were whisked through a door to the attached club Pink, which was closed.
Our witness relates, "She was yelling at him, 'What are you gonna do, Chris Brown me?' Four of her bodyguards and two of the club's kept them apart."
Hip-Hop diva Mary J. Blige smacked her husband for checking out a waitress at her CD release party this week and warned him, "You ain't going Chris Brown on me," witnesses said.
The "No More Drama" songstress lashed out at hubby Kendu Isaacs at the Tuesday night party at the M2 Ultra lounge in Chelsea, witnesses said.
One party goer told the Daily News that the 38-year-old Grammy winner flew into a jealous rage because Isaacs was paying too much attention to a waitress at the club.
"Mary hauled off and smacked him," the source said.
Blige then warned Isaacs not to even think about retaliating. "She said, 'You ain't going to go Chris Brown on me, are you?'" according to a source.
Brown beat up ex-girlfriend Rihanna in June after she caught him reading a text from an old flame. The now-infamous incident led to Brown pleading guilty to felony assault charges.
Blige, who is promoting her new album "Stronger With Each Tear," denied Wednesday night that the incident with her husband took place.
"They're as happy as can be," spokeswoman Karynne Tencer said. "They're spending the holidays together with their three children. Everything's great."
A friend of Blige suggested that some "haters" at the club may have "misunderstood a joke Mary and Kendu were sharing."
Hip-Hop diva Mary J. Blige smacked her husband for checking out a waitress at her CD release party this week and warned him, "You ain't going Chris Brown on me," witnesses said.
The "No More Drama" songstress lashed out at hubby Kendu Isaacs at the Tuesday night party at the M2 Ultra lounge in Chelsea, witnesses said.
One party goer told the Daily News that the 38-year-old Grammy winner flew into a jealous rage because Isaacs was paying too much attention to a waitress at the club.
"Mary hauled off and smacked him," the source said.
Blige then warned Isaacs not to even think about retaliating. "She said, 'You ain't going to go Chris Brown on me, are you?'" according to a source.
Brown beat up ex-girlfriend Rihanna in June after she caught him reading a text from an old flame. The now-infamous incident led to Brown pleading guilty to felony assault charges.
Blige, who is promoting her new album "Stronger With Each Tear," denied Wednesday night that the incident with her husband took place.
"They're as happy as can be," spokeswoman Karynne Tencer said. "They're spending the holidays together with their three children. Everything's great."
A friend of Blige suggested that some "haters" at the club may have "misunderstood a joke Mary and Kendu were sharing."
Chris Brown’s Graffiti is projected to land at Number Three on the Billboard Top 200 this week with sales of 95,000-110,000 albums, per Billboard. But the 20-year-old R&B singer’s last album, Exclusive, moved 294,000 copies its debut week in 2007, and Brown thinks he can explain the difference: in a series of angry tweets over the weekend, Brown accused stores of “blackballing” him and failing to stock the album in the wake of his guilty plea for assaulting Rihanna earlier this year.
Brown’s Twitter rant ramped up after he stopped into a Walmart in Wallingford, Connecticut, where he couldn’t find a copy of his record. “didnt even have my album in the back… not on shelves, saw for myself,” he wrote on December 12th. MTV News reports that the Walmart in question had actually sold out of the album. One day earlier Brown posted, “im tired of this shit. major stores r blackballing my cd. not stockin the shelves and lying to costumers. what the fuck do i gotta do…”
In one Tweet, Brown claims that he spoke with the store’s managers “and the[y] didn’t even know anything. Wow! But they had Alicia Keys album ready for release for this Tuesday comin’… The manager told me that when there are new releases, its mandatory to put ‘em on the shelves… BUT NO SIGN OF GRAFFITI. BS.”
The album’s first two singles, “I Can Transform Ya” and “Crawl,” haven’t exactly been burning up Billboard’s charts, either. “Crawl” has yet to crack the Top 50 on the Hot 100, and “Transform Ya,” which features Lil Wayne, only made it to Number 20.
As Rolling Stone reported last week, in the new issue of Vibe, Brown laments that producers for the BET Awards wouldn’t let him perform during a Michael Jackson tribute last June, when he was still in the middle of court proceedings attached to his Rihanna altercation.
Days after Chris Brown took to his Twitter page accusing stores of "blackballing" his new album, "Graffiti," the singer's account was deleted after he left a final message to his fans.
"I WANNA THANK MY FANS FOR ALL THE SUPPORT," said Brown's final tweet, posted Monday afternoon. "I LOVE YALL. GOODBYE!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Over the weekend, Brown went on a tirade after he visited a Wal-Mart store in Connecticut and didn't see his album on shelves.
"The didnt even have my album in the back ... not on shelves, saw for myself," he tweeted.
Brown said he spoke to the manager, who had no answers.
"the manager told me that when there are new releases its mandatory to put em on the shelves. BUT NO SIGN OF #GRAFFITI. BS," he tweeted.
He continued to say that Alicia Keys' new album was stocked and ready for release, though it wasn't due out until Tuesday.
Fans began instantly replying with unverified stories about their attempts to buy Brown's CD. The singer began retweeting, or forwarding the tweets out, some of which claimed when fans asked when the shelves would be restocked they were told "never," and allegations that managers said they didn't support "woman-beaters."
News of his outrage spread quickly and many media outlets began reporting on his complaints.
Brown began using Twitter as a way to connect to his fans after he pleaded guilty and was sentenced for beating his then-girlfriend Rihanna.
Whether it was an attempt to garner favorable public relations in the wake of an image-shattering event or just a late adaptation to the microblogging craze, Brown had spent the months after the incident using his Twitter account to reach and connect with 172,366 followers.
He tweeted regularly thanking his fans for their continued support and sounding off after concerts.
It was unclear what specifically sparked Brown to delete his account, named "mechanicaldummy," He had started the day with a normal "good morning" message to his fans.
Singer Chris Brown has pleaded guilty to one count of Felony assault on pop star Rihanna.
Brown entered his plea before a preliminary hearing was scheduled to start in Los Angeles on Monday.
Rihanna had been on standby to testify.
Brown will be sentenced on Aug. 5, but the terms of the plea deal call for him to serve five years of formal probation and six months – roughly 1,400 hours – of community labor. Brown will be able to complete his probation in his home state of Virginia; he will have to do either graffiti removal or roadside cleanup for his service.
A spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County district attorney's office said the terms were in line with what others receive when they're charged with similar crimes and who have no prior criminal history.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Patricia Schnegg also ordered the singer to stay away from Rihanna.
After Brown entered his plea and left the courtroom, Rihanna entered and was addressed by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Patricia Schnegg, who explained to the Barbados-born singer that she had issued a stay-away order.
Rihanna, 21, had not been seeking a stay-away order, but the judge imposed one. The order requires that Brown and Rihanna stay at least 50 yards from each, except at industry events when the distance is reduced to 10 yards.
The judge also told Rihanna it's not a one-way order and she will be in violation if she gets closer to Brown than the order allows.
Rihanna was informed of the deal about an hour she could have been called as a witness, her attorney, Donald Etra, said. He said the singer “did not object” to the terms of the deal.
Schnegg accepted Brown's plea, but expressed some concerns because Brown is not a California resident. She said Brown likely will be allowed to do his community service in his home state of Virginia. He'll have to return to California for updates every three months. He'll also be required to attend domestic violence classes.
Brown spoke softly throughout the hearing as he waived his rights and told the judge he understood the gravity of his plea.
“I think it's commendable you took responsibility for your conduct,” Schnegg told Brown.
She said she hoped “the terms and conditions of your probation will have some meaning.”
The deal provides an end to a case that sparked intense media interest and severe backlash against Brown. Sponsors and radio stations dropped him, and the singer had to cancel several high-profile appearances, including a performance at the Grammys.
The singer once known for his squeaky-clean image now has a substantial blemish on his record. He must now also remain out of trouble for the foreseeable future.
Lawyers for Brown and Rihanna have refused to discuss the status of the pair's relationship.
Brown was arrested Feb. 8, hours after police say he hit and threatened Rihanna after leaving a pre-Grammy party in Los Angeles. He was later charged with felony assault likely to produce great bodily harm and making criminal threats.
If convicted, the singer faced sentences ranging up to nearly five years in prison.
Brown, 20, rose to fame after the 2005 hit “Run It!” and his popularity has only grown. He was nominated for a Grammy for “No Air” with Jordin Sparks and named Billboard's top artist in 2008.
In the months since the incident, both musicians have gradually appeared in public more frequently. Lately they have been photographed separately, including at a National Basketball Association finals game between the Orlando Magic and Los Angeles Lakers.
Rihanna, 21, recorded one of 2007's most popular songs with “Umbrella” and has numerous other hits. Her looks have made her a cover girl for magazines, as well as a pitchwoman for Cover Girl cosmetics.
R&B singer Chris Brown is going to court today and Rihanna may testify against him.
A preliminary hearing will be held in a Los Angeles courtroom Monday afternoon to determine if there is enough evidence to bring Brown to trial in the Grammy night beating of pop megastar and then-girlfriend Rihanna. According to Rihanna's lawyer, she will testify if called on by the prosecution.
However, it's unclear whether she will be called. She already gave an account of her alleged beating at the hands of Brown the night of the incident. And prosecutors can put the detectives who heard her story on the stand to get its point across, without calling Rihanna.
Will the case move forward? Experts say it's likely since the burden of proof for an indictment is much lower than that for an actual trial.
The hearing is set to begin today at 4:30 p.m. Eastern.
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