High school students in New York are under fire for putting on a controversial skit reenacting the Chris Brown, Rihanna fight back in 2009; meanwhile, the couple got into a public verbal confrontation that has fans wondering if they will really get back together.
Student of Waverly High School put on a skit during their homecoming pep rally that was meant to cause laughs, but instead it just sparked controversy.
Students wore blackface and reenacted the brutal Chris Brown attack on ex girlfriend Rihanna.
A graduate of the school used CNN’s iReport to draw media attention to the racist and offensive performance that not only mocked African Americans, but also attempted to make a joke out of domestic violence.
According to the graduate who posted the video, Matthew Dishler, school administrators are the ones to blame for the offensive skit.
“There were adults who should have stood up and said ‘Hey, guys, this is not OK. Blackface is not OK. Is it illegal? No. But you should really not do that,’” Dishler told the Associated Press.
A director of a nearby A New Hope Center, an aid group for victims of abuse, also weighed in on the not-so-funny comedy skit.
“They were trying to make something funny that is far from funny,” Rose Garrity, the New Hope director said. “… and they were being incredibly racist while they were doing it. I doubt any of those children had any idea about the history of racism and minstrels or anything like that.”
It may seem odd to think that the high school students had no idea how offensive such a performance could be, but according to figures from 2010 the town of Waverly has an overwhelming 97 percent white population.
Another student even saw the skit herself and found nothing wrong with it.
“I don’t think it was offensive at all,” said Chelsea House, a 2011 graduate from Waverly. “There’s nothing wrong with blackface. There’s nothing wrong with dressing up as a black person. Black is but a color.”
“Black is but a color” is exactly the type of statement that proves Garrity’s point. In the town of Waverly, black is considered less of a race or culture and more of just “a color.”
Another alumnus of Waverly made it known, however, that his views are not like that of House’s.
“The administration should be creating an environment where minorities are welcome, not the butts of racist jokes that make light of domestic violence,” Vlad Chituc told CNN.
The high school reported that it hopes to make the situation a “teachable” one, but there are years of ignorance to correct in order to truly make a point about why the skit was so controversial.
Meanwhile, the couple has moved on from that tragic moment in their lives, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t any trouble in paradise.
Brown and RiRi have been working on rekindling their relationship, but on Monday night the couple was caught in yet another spat… thankfully one that never escalated past a verbal altercation.
According to MediaTakeOut.com, the “Where Have You Been” singer was fed up with the 23-year-old deciding to hang out with his friends instead of her.
“Rihanna is under a lot of stress [with her new album] and she wants [Chris] with her all the time,” the source explained. “But Chris has his own stuff to do.”
The source went on to report that the Bajan beauty has a habit of trying to order the “Don’t Judge Me” crooner around, but that just doesn’t work anymore.
“That s—t used to work before [when Chris and Rihanna were together], but Chris is a lot older,” the source continued. “He’s a man and so you can’t do him like that anymore.”
Perhaps Jay-Z’s mentee should worry less about Chris hanging with the boys and more about him hanging with his ex.
Rumors have been flying that the “Don’t Wake Me Up” crooner hasn’t really cut off all ties with Karrueche Tran.
The aspiring model was photographed recently arrived at the R&B bad boy’s home in L.A after yet another long night of partying.
Just a few days before that, the two were also spotted at a mutual friend’s birthday party together.
Brown did, however, take some time away from both ladies as he went to add yet another tattoo to his vast collection of body art.
Rihanna’s ex decided to cover the front of his neck with ink too as he got a lion tattooed across the remaining empty space on his neck.
At least the lion doesn’t seem to be an offensive portrait of RiRi after being beaten by her ex, but it’s still just a bit strange.
