Last week, Rihanna set the blogsophere buzzing when she tweeted news that she was collaborating with someone "shocking" on a remix to her song "Birthday Cake." Would it be ex-boyfriend Chris Brown, everyone wondered. Conspiracy theorists said yes; sane people said it would never happen in a million years. And then the crazy did occur: When Rihanna released the "Birthday Cake" remix earlier today, it was indeed Brown—the man who savagely beat her on the eve of the 2009 Grammys during an argument over his text messages to another woman—featured alongside the pop star.
For those who remember the shock and horror they felt upon first hearing reports of the incident, seeing the pair back together creating new music is jarring. For those who tried to use the event to create a useful public discourse about domestic violence, Rihanna's return to her abuser is disappointing. And for those still waiting, over three years later, for any sign of contrition from Brown, hearing him coo lines like, "Girl, I wanna fuck you right now/Been a long time, I've been missing your body," feels like nothing short of a betrayal. It may be Rihanna's choice to forgive Brown, but to so blatantly exploit their past controversy for a little bit of attention and a hit song is just wrong. "Birthday Cake" and its 81 glorious seconds of naughty, hand-clapping fun may have been my favorite song from last November's Talk That Talk, but this remix is, quite simply, disgusting. For all that it represents, it deserves a big, fat F.
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