If you have been on Instagram since New Year’s, you are probably more familiar than you’d care to be with the Chris Brown and Soulja Boy feud. If not, here’s the 60-second summary:
Soulja Boy liked a picture of Brown’s ex on Instagram. Brown took offense. The two exchanged a series of expletive-laden insults and threats on Instagram and Twitter. Finally, they agreed to settle their beef in the boxing ring.
Bizarre, right? Well, that’s just the start. Soulja Boy, who claims that the feud is rooted in Brown’s abuse of Rihanna, recruited a convicted domestic abuser — Floyd Mayweather — to be his trainer and promote the fight. Brown, who punched and choked Rihanna until she was unconscious in 2008, and pled guilty to assault, hired a convicted rapist — Mike Tyson — to lead his corner.
It sounds like a bad joke. A rapist, two men with a history of domestic violence, and a rapper walk into a boxing ring … What a way to resolve a dispute over a woman.
Yet, the fight goes on. This shouldn’t be surprising. Chris Brown has more Instagram followers than Barack Obama, Donald Trump, the Pope, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal: combined. I’ll let you draw your own conclusions about what that says about society.
This goes without saying, but don’t purchase the fight. It will be available on pay-per-view in March. We can’t condone or reward abuse. Similarly, it’s high time that we stop idolizing and obsessing over celebrities and start promoting genuinely admirable role models for young people to emulate.