South African women’s rights group Women For Change has started a petition to prevent Chris Brown from performing a show in the country; the petition has already garnered over 27,000 signatures.
NME reports that the controversial pop star sold out the 94,000-capacity FNB Stadium in Johannesburg in less than two hours, with demand being so high that a second night was added.
However, backlash sparked over the announcement given Brown’s alleged history with domestic violence.
In 2009, Brown was found guilty of felony assault after assaulting then-girlfriend Rihanna. He was sentenced to five years probation, counseling and six months community service. In 2021, Brown was reportedly under police investigation over the alleged battery of a woman; these charges were later dropped due to “insufficient evidence.” Earlier this year, Brown was also hit with multiple lawsuits totalling $65 million in damages.
The controversy has also been fueled by discussions of South Africa’s particularly disturbing levels of violence against women. The country has one of the highest rates of femicide and gender-based violence in the world, where a rape is reported roughly every 12 minutes and many more victims are presumed to never come forward to the police.
Sabrina Walter, executive director of Women For Change, commented on the news of Brown’s performances: “When I saw the news that Chris Brown was coming to South Africa, I was shocked and deeply disappointed.”
She continued, “The petition was started to send a strong message that we will not tolerate the celebration of individuals with a history of violence against women. When someone like Chris Brown is given a platform in a country where GBV is at crisis levels, it sends a damaging message – that fame and power outweigh accountability.”
Women For Change has also said the organization wishes to know how the Department of Home Affairs could grant “a convicted abuser” a visa. In South African law, having a previous conviction can result in a visa being denied but there can be an exception for “good cause,” which is cleared by the Director General of the Department of Home Affairs.
Brown has previously been banned from entering other countries, including the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. However, he has subsequently gone on to play in the UK and in other European countries.
A documentary investigating Brown’s alleged history of domestic abuse is set to be televised later this year. Chris Brown: A History of Violence comes from the same production team that created the Quiet on Set exposé that aired earlier this year on the toxic culture of Nickelodeon in the ‘90s.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the new documentary will explore Brown’s “years of alleged offstage aggression, including intimate-partner violence, assault charges and even sexual assault allegations.”
Chris Brown: A History of Violence will air in the US on the Investigation Discovery network on October 27.
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