Chris Brown Continues His Image Rehab, Gives Fan Reward Tickets

(Photo By Getty Images)Chris Brown (PacificCoastNews.com)
Chris Brown knows what first comes to mind when people hear his name, and since that terrible night more than two years ago, he's been trying to make us forget. Unfortunately, it seems like with each step Brown makes forward, he takes two steps back.


There was the half-hearted apology that lacked both sincerity and personal accountability, followed by an overly defensive declaration of "I'm done apologizing." His "remorse" record (Graffiti, 2009) came off like carefully planned media strategy rather than genuine catharsis. And a year later, Brown gave credence to the skepticism surrounding Graffiti's "changed man" conceit when he flew off the handle with a barrage of insensitive, aggressive, and even more defensive homophobic Twitter rants. Then there was the whole Good Morning Americadebacle. 


True, many of Brown's diehard supporters have moved on from that abusive altercation with ex-girlfriend Rihanna, but with enough character setbacks to spawn a Behind the Music episode that lacks the standard third act redemption, we have to wonder: Does Chris Brown deserve forgiveness? Or at the very least, has he even come close to earning it?


Brown took a step in the right direction last night in his campaign to convince the world that he's a good guy. Following his performance at the VMAs that saw him lose his $22,000 Rolex in the crowd, one of the audience members showed no hesitation in returning the pricey bling to its rightful owner. As we'd hoped, Brown promised to reward the woman for her honesty. To his credit, Brown lived up to his word, giving right-minded do-gooder Alisha backstage passes to his Cincinnati show, along with an autographed photo. 


Whether it was another PR move or genuine gratitude is anyone's guess, and who knows if the Rolex returner is a fan of Brown's. Maybe she would have preferred, say… Rihanna tickets. We can question the motives or the earnestness involved all day, but let's hope for Brown's sake that this step forward isn't thwarted by his pattern of regression.