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Chloe Bailey Faces Backlash for Music Collaboration With Chris Brown

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Grammy nominated R&B and pop artist Chloe Bailey is facing backlash for collaborating with fellow R&B singer-songwriter Chris Brown. Brown has long been accused of domestic abuse by several of his former partners, and plead guilty of beating Rihanna. Photos from the night that Brown was arrested over the incident in 2009 were incredibly graphic, and raised alarm bells from former fans on social media.

Bailey’s single, “How Does It Feel”, is set to debut February 24. Chris Brown will feature in the music video, according to a teaser that Bailey shared on Twitter.

In the years that passed since their relationship, Brown has stated in interviews that he apologized to Rihanna, and the pair even collaborated on several songs after the initial incident. Some feel that the apology needs to be respected, as it appears that Brown and Rihanna have handled the situation privately. Others pointed out Brown’s continued problematic comments in the many years since the incident.

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Some pointed to Brown’s hugely successful music career as the reason that Bailey chose to collaborate with him.

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Despite Brown’s success, critics were quick to point out that Bailey is at her own pinnacle of success and that she did not need to do this collaboration with him to boost her career. Chloe Bailey and her sister Halle Bailey, who sometimes perform together as Chloe x Halle, both began their careers making cameos on Disney channel. Both sisters maintain a young female fan base, and some feel that working with a convicted domestic abuser who has made negative comments about Black women sends the wrong message.

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TikTok and Twitter users were quick to question the decision, given that there are numerous other male R&B artists that some felt would suit the collaboration better, including Anderson Paak.

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Other Black women musicians took to Twitter to speak on the issue.

Brown has collaborated with several other female artists since the initial domestic violence charges, including Tinashe, Normani, and Kelly Rowland. Fans of these artists feel like a change needs to be made in music to stop awarding abusers.

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Others voiced that the Chloe Bailey controversy opens up a much larger conversation of why producers feel that young female artists need to boost their careers by collaborating with controversial artists like Brown.

Amid the criticism, some offered a counter-point. Chloe and Halle are 24 and 22 respectively, and are likely receiving advice from older career advisors, which creates a generational disconnect. This was also brought up in regards to their personal lives.

While Chloe’s record label and producers likely felt the pairing with Brown would make for a respectable collaboration in the R&B world, fans cited that the new pop culture takes abuse very seriously, and may not be able to give the new track an unbiased listen.

Especially due to the controversy, fans and critics alike have turned a watchful eye to Chloe’s upcoming release. Her debut solo album, In Pieces, drops in March.

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