New documentary examines Chris Brown’s violent past

LOS ANGELES, October 27: Chris Brown’s behavior has come under scrutiny once again with the release of a new documentary, Chris Brown: A History of Violence, produced by Investigation Discovery. This documentary details numerous allegations against the singer, featuring accounts from multiple women, including high-profile cases involving Rihanna and Karrueche Tran. Among the allegations, an unknown woman named Jane Doe claims that Brown drugged and raped her on Sean “Diddy” Combs’ yacht in 2020.

Brown’s legal team has categorically denied Doe’s allegations, labeling all allegations presented in the documentary as “malicious and false.” The documentary dovetails with the channel’s “No Excuses for Abuse” campaign, which aims to raise awareness during Domestic Violence Awareness Month. It offers an overview of Brown’s rise in the music industry, once heralded as Michael Jackson’s successor, coupled with the fall from grace that followed his physical attack on Rihanna in 2009.

In the documentary, police photos showing Rihanna’s serious injuries were leaked. She claimed Brown hit her multiple times, choked her until she nearly lost consciousness and threatened to kill her, according to police reports. Following the incident, Brown pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and received a sentence that included five years of probation and community service.

After their tumultuous relationship, Brown and Rihanna briefly reconciled with the help of Combs, who invited them to his Miami home to help mend their relationship. However, they ultimately broke up twice after this. Domestic violence experts featured in the documentary explain how exposure to abuse during childhood, a reality both Brown and Rihanna share, can perpetuate cycles of violence in adult relationships.

The film goes on to outline Brown’s alleged pattern of abuse. Tran, who had multiple relationships with him from 2010 to 2015, was given a five-year restraining order against Brown. She accused him of physically assaulting her, including claims that he punched her in the stomach, pushed her down the stairs and threatened the lives of her and her friends. It was also reported that Brown vandalized his mother’s car and broke the window of the Good Morning America set while he was receiving anger management treatment. He has also clashed with artists like Drake and Frank Ocean and has faced lawsuits from former partners for violent behavior. Just last summer, he was accused of brutally attacking several men during a concert in Texas.

The documentary highlights multiple sexual assault allegations against Brown. Criminal defense and entertainment attorney Freddy Sayegh, who appears in the film, points out Brown’s extensive history of violence spanning nearly 15 years. Despite these serious allegations, Brown has managed to maintain his prominent position in the music industry. A year after the attack on Rihanna, BET invited her to perform a concert in memory of Michael Jackson. Most recently, as he kicked off his “11:11 Tour” in June, Brown made light of efforts to blacklist him, continuing to enjoy a large fan base and becoming the second most followed male artist on Instagram.

The documentary also includes the statements of Jane Doe, who allegedly used drugs and described the rape incident in 2020. Jane Doe stated that she received death threats after filing a lawsuit against Brown in 2022, but that her goal was to “shed light on what really happened.” Doe described herself as an aspiring dancer newly arrived in Los Angeles who met Brown at Combs’ home during a trip to Miami. He initially found her friendly but claimed that after he gave her a drink his memory became blurred and he became disoriented. She claimed Brown took her to his bedroom and raped her despite her objections, then texted her and suggested she take the morning-after pill.

Although Doe initially continued to communicate with Brown after the incident, therapy later helped her realize that this was sexual assault. He filed a $20 million lawsuit in 2022, but the discovery of text messages led his lawyers to conclude he wasn’t being very forthcoming, which resulted in them withdrawing from his case. In the end, the judge dismissed the case for lack of prosecution. One of his lawyers, Ariel Mitchell-Kidd, appears again in the documentary and expresses regret that he was not able to establish a more trusting relationship with Doe.

In response to Doe’s allegations, Brown’s attorneys maintain they are fabricated and no comment was received from Brown’s representative. The documentary also features Liziane Gutierrez, who accused Brown of assault in 2016 and revisits his 2019 arrest in Paris for aggravated rape allegations, which were later dropped.

The documentary uses expert opinions and statistics to contextualize Brown’s extensive history of legal troubles, drawing parallels with the overdue liabilities faced by the likes of Combs and R. Kelly. Sunny Hostin, who hosted a subsequent showing of the documentary, expressed concern that many people seem to have forgotten Brown’s violent past, particularly the attack on Rihanna, and emphasized the need for continued awareness of domestic violence issues.