At what point is a parent no longer responsible for the actions of their adult child? Because the Thanksgiving that Brandy’s little brother just had is raising this very question.
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William Ray Norwood Jr., better known as Ray J, was arrested Thanksgiving morning after a reported dispute with his estranged wife Princess Love. A social media livestream shows the two arguing over their children and Love tearfully accusing him of pulling a gun on her during the altercation.
This is where his mother, Sonja B. Norwood, enters the picture. “I hope each of you had a grateful Thanksgiving. The day started a little rough, but we had a good family Thanksgiving…” Norwood wrote via Facebook on Thursday.
“You raised a terrible son,” one person wrote beneath her post. Instead of ignoring the comment, she responded with a simple, “Sorry, but I don’t think so.”
This gets us to the heart of the matter. The commenter was out of line to (virtually) step to Mrs. Norwood like that. This brings us back to the original question: How long are parents responsible for the actions of their adult children?
If she were a young mother and her elementary age son was a terror to everyone he met, then yes. She must account for how her child is acting out. Even if Ray was in high school acting a plumb fool, it would be fair to look sideways at Mrs. Sonja for how Mr. “I had a hit record even though I cannot really sing” was behaving.
But Ray J isn’t in elementary school… nor is he a senior in high school. This man will be 45 in January. He has two kids and pays his own bills. Can we really blame his mother for what Ray J does as an adult?
When adults break the law, their parents are not held responsible for the actions their children take. When we found out what Diddy was up behind closed doors after he was convicted of transportation to engage in prostitution in July, did we blame his mother Janice Combs?
When Death Row Records co-founder Suge Knight was being a menace in the 90s, did we blame his parents? (Did you know that Suge Knight’s daddy was a respected pastor?)
And that’s just Black folks. Who is stepping to the mother of Harvey Weinstein, Joe Exotic or Elizabeth Holmes saying that they raised horrible children?
Let’s tell the truth and shame the devil. Ray J is a mess.
He went viral before going viral was even a thing when the sex tape he made with Kim Kardashian was leaked in 2007. He seems to enjoy being involved with mess as evidenced by his stints on two “Love and Hip Hop” franchises in Hollywood and Miami, his dating reality show “For the love of Ray J” and BET’s “College Hill.” But is he a mess because of his mother? Absolutely not.
At some point we become responsible for our actions. And if we get the praise when we succeed, we should shoulder the blame when we mess up. The same is true for Mr. “One Wish.”
He may not be the best human being in the world. But that is not because his mother made him that way.
Straight From 
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