The Whole CB/Rihanna situation

I'm not a gossip type blogger and this isn't a gossip-celebrity news based blog and show...but I feel it just a necessity to put my 2 cents in on the Chris Brown/Rihanna situation...peer pressure man LOL

1) Releasing that photo of Rihanna was a GROSS and overt invasion of privacy...however it's the price you pay of being a celebrity...people feel like a celebrity's life and what goes on in it is a matter of public domain or public record...I disagree whole-heartedly! I feel like celebrities voluntarily put out what they want the public to know...when they go into rehab, their people put out releases and stuff so that it appears they are getting help...when the paparazzi takes photos of such and such wearing no panties or drunk in the club...well if that celebrity didn't want to be seen that way, they wouldn't do it...my point is if Rihanna wanted the world to know how bad her injuries really were/are, she would've allowed herself to be photographed or held a press conference, something...the fact that these photos are posted all over the internet just doesn't sit well w/ me...it's like being humiliated a trillion times over...and after the physical wounds heal, she'll always have this lingering over her head...visually it's not a matter of public record, but that's not by her choice

2) This is NOT the same thing as the R. Kelly situation...I've been reading different blogs and peoples' thread comments and it blows me when people keep saying well R. Kelly got off, OJ got off, so will Chris Brown...the difference between them and Chris Brown is they assaulted (and in OJ's case "allegedly" murdered) these women who were nobodies...Rihanna is the freakin princess of Pop! Chris Brown, for all intensive purpose, is the prince of Pop...these 2 young adults are almost icon status...so there is NO way he's walking away scott-free

3) I feel like the "apology" Chris Brown issued was yet another low blow...there was no genuine or heart-felt to it...it was merely a uniform apology all celebrities issue when they get caught up in BS...I think had he went on TV or did a v-log or something more personal, people would maybe soften a lil bit...it may have even helped him when it comes time for the hearing and whatever...but it's safe to say that nobody w/ a shread of common sense is buying into that apology

4) Can either 1 of them come back from this? That's a tough call...I mean retailers and radio stations wasted no time pulling CB's music off the shelves...he's lost his Milk endorsement...he's supposed to have an album coming out in '09, that probably won't happen...so I think, even if CB doesn't serve jail time, his career is significantly damaged...I don't know if I'd go so far as to say his career is over, but he's suffered a blow in the public eye that will be a major struggle to fix...we all know that public opinion defines artist success sometimes far more than the tangible accolades...Rihanna is affected in many ways too, altho not as severe as CB...I think if she eventually goes back to him, her career will suffer too...but if she doesn't, her comeback CD and tour will take her to another level of iconic status...a status that hasn't been held by another female artist other than maybe Tina Turner and Whitney Houston (ie women who moved on after getting rid of the "bad boy" in their life)