Chris Brown Smackdown

If you're on Twitter (or if you read celebrity news), you've probably heard about the brutal word battle between comedian Jenny Johnson and music artist Chris Brown that recently blew up last week.  The comedian started the brawl by retweeting the singer and adding a not-so-nice comment of her own to let him (and 100 million twitter users) know exactly how she feels about the guy.  As you can imagine, the Twitter world sort of exploded.  Very nasty words were exchanged between the duo, with onlookers spouting off their own opinions on the subject, until Brown deleted his account.

Jenny Johnson wrote an article yesterday about the experience, saying right off the bat, "This is not an apology. I just want to clear some things up."  In it, she explains her reasoning behind her blunt, no-mercy behavior towards Brown, who assaulted pop star Rihanna in 2009:  "I was raised to not respect a person who doesn't respect others. And one human being physically harming another human being is one of the most disrespectful acts there is."

Although I'm not sure that the comedian should have gone out of her way to insult the young star, I understand the motivation behind her harsh words.  I don't like Chris Brown, and if you're a self-respecting woman or a decent man, you probably don't either.  HE BEAT UP HIS GIRLFRIEND, for crying out loud.  But, having made that point very clear, is it acceptable for non-supporters like Johnson and I (and maybe you, too) to remind him again and again that he is, in the comedian's words, "a worthless piece of shit"?  My question is, will there ever be a point in a complex situation like this one where the hatred and judgement fade away and forgiveness steps in?  Should there be?  Rihanna seems to think so.  

Personally, I don't believe I'll ever be able to respect the kid after what he did.  There's just no way someone can earn it back after such a deed has been done, in my opinion.  (And let's be honest, he is not helping his case by always acting like a pompous jerk.)  But I guess I just want to know if the continual harassment of Brown, in your opinion, proves to be a good thing for the sake of women everywhere, or is simply unnecessary.