Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Rosie O'Donnell defends Chris Brown: 'He is a victim too'

Rosie O'Donnell said she believes 'all humans,' like Chris Brown, 'are capable of violence.'

Kempin, Kovac/Getty

Rosie O'Donnell said she believes 'all humans,' like Chris Brown, 'are capable of violence.'

Russell Simmons is no longer the only celebrity to passionately defend controversial star Chris Brown since his meltdown at "Good Morning America" last month.

The R&B artist, who broke a window in his dressing room after co-host Robin Roberts asked him repeatedly about his 2009 domestic violence incident with Rihanna, can also count Rosie O'Donnell in his corner.

But O'Donnell, also a controversial personality in her own right, was slammed on Twitter Monday as she struggled to explain that she wasn't condoning Brown's actions against his ex or at "GMA," but just thought he deserved to be able to move on from his past.

"He was held accountable," she tweeted when a follower asked if Brown should be held responsible for his "violent outbursts."

"He did his service - the judge commended him - he grew up in a violent home - he is only 21," she added.

But when O'Donnell was accused of making excuses for the singer and turning him into the victim, the former talk show host ? who had her own non-violent meltdown of sorts during her last episode of "The View" in 2007 ? shot back.

"I dont think i am - i have compassion for both he and rihanna - its is not a simple discussion - layers n layers," she tweeted. "He is a victim too."

"There is no excuse - yet it happens every day," O'Donnell said of domestic violence. "No one I know thinks it's ok - I don't think it's ok - to understand how and y it happens is helpful to all."

The comedienne also noted that she "loved what russell said" on his website GlobalGrind.com, where he explained why Brown deserved "a break."

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"Because of that one regretful incident, no one will give him a break," Simmons wrote, adding that it's "not fair" when artists have to pay "the price of the sins in their young lives for the rest of their lives."

O'Donnell, who said on Twitter that she agreed with Simmons "100%," first took up the Brown subject on her SiriusXM radio show last week.

"I can name 25 stars who trash dressing rooms, who trash hotel rooms," she said on the March 29 show. "I just don't know why this kid seems to be held to a different standard than anyone else."

When her executive producer Janette Barber suggested there might be a "racist" component, O'Donnell said she "totally" thinks "there is."

"I also think it's why he felt he was safer with Robin Roberts," she said.

"Black rappers are not allowed to be angry and then recover from it?" asked Barber.

"Well, I do think there is a societal paradigm in which you have to be an angel or a thug if you're a black male," O'Donnell responded.

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"I actually felt bad for Chris Brown during that interview," she went on to admit. "And I felt mildly angry at Robin Roberts ? I feel like writing her and going, 'Can you take a look at this again and see if maybe you find in any way your responsibility in this at all?'"

"A part of me wanted to take a chair and throw it through the window at 'The View' after all that happened," O'Donnell said, "but there were no windows down there."

The day after the "GMA" incident, Brown appeared on BET's "106 & Park," where he apologized for his behavior, explaining that he "got very emotional."

"I just wanted to release just the anger that I had inside me because I felt like I worked so hard for this music," he said, "and I love my fans and I love being able to make positive music that I felt like people kept just trying to take it away from, take it away from me."

Erika Christensen Bridget Moynahan Kristen Bell Whitney Able Scarlett Chorvat

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