Stop Blaming Rihanna for the Brawl

Whatever happened between Chris Brown and Drake wasn't about her at all, The Root's contributing editor Demetria L. Lucas argues in a piece for Essence.

Since the fight, Rihanna’s name has been dragged through the mud. In the Twitterverse, where every rude thought gets 140 characters to shine, she's been called a "ho" for dating and allegedly having sex with both men, and those old pictures that appeared to show Rihanna naked have made their way back to center stage. On Thursday, #Rihannasbox, a crude allusion to her most private regions, became a trending topic.

I don’t quite understand how she got in the middle of this discussion, even if she's being called the catalyst of the unfortunate events. Too many folks will try to blame a woman -- and let a man off the hook -- for anything. It's not like she threw a bottle; she wasn't even at the club! If anyone should be torn to shreds, it should be one of the men who supposedly instigated the madness that resulted in multiple injuries.  

Much like the annoying guy standing with his boys as he catcalls a woman walking down the street, this brawl isn't about the woman. Street harassment is about asserting masculinity and virility in a public fashion. And that's just what happened Wednesday night at the club. It might have been a fight over Rihanna, but it wasn't really about her at all. Leave her out of it.

Read Demetria L. Lucas' entire piece at Essence.

The Root aims to foster and advance conversations about issues relevant to the black Diaspora by presenting a variety of opinions from all perspectives, whether or not those opinions are shared by our editorial staff.

Like The Root on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.

 

Tweet