I came to work this morning to find out TMZ had posted the heartbreaking picture of pop-star Rihanna battered and brusied from the alleged altercation with her boyfriend singer Chris Brown on their website. I wasted no time logging on to TMZ to see the image and what I saw weighed heavy on my heart. Such a beautiful person marked with the tell-tale signs of her lover's rage. Deep bruises on both sideds of her face and forehead. Blackened eyes and blood drying on a busted lip. Tears resting in the corners of her eyes. It was a photo of undeniable pain and heartbreak.
I sat for a moment at my desk and wondered - should I air this photo in my newscast? Had she been any other victim of a domestic violence incident - her anonymity would be in tact. The joys of her life playout in the national spotlight - but I wondered must her pain too? When this bizzare story broke two weeks ago everyone was speculating on whether or not it was Rihanna that Brown had struck. After looking at this picture there is no denying who Brown's victim was - from the short cropped hair to the destinctive tattoo on her left shoulder blade - the woman in the picture is definetly Rihanna.
The LAPD has refused to confirm if the picture is one taken by their officers. The LA Times is reporting that an internal investigation has been launched to determine how the photo was obtained and whether someone in their department leaked it.
I couldn't help but wonder if TMZ's choice to make the photo public was like another blow to Rihanna's face.
I know that for some odd reason once you become famous you lose all right to privacy - but I can't help but feel like the picture isn't something that should be publicized. But at the end of the day my job is to inform the public. So against my own ill feelings I aired the picture. Does that make me scum? Maybe a little bit. (However, I did choose not to post it on this blog. If you want to see the image for yourself you can log on to TMZ.com).
Against her own wishes Rihanna has become the poster child for domestic violence -- and as a superstar she is looked at as a role model to thousands of teenage girls. So maybe by airing the picture that most likely captured the worst moment of her life, we can help save another woman from becoming the next Rihanna.
Comments (1)
Back in the day, newspapers would publish crime scene photos in all their black and white, bloody glory. But we don't do that anymore. Why? It's in poor taste.
It was poor taste and a shocking greediness for site traffic that led TMZ to publish this photo of Rihanna - not any desire to win any victories for survivors of domestic violence.
It's disingenuous to pull the 'maybe this photo will save another woman from domestic violence' tone. That kind of self-righteousness won't wash when you consider how complicit the media is in creating a culture that blames a victim for her abuse, that emboldens abusers and then profits from all the stories of this abuse.
What changes abuse? Holding abusers accountable. Making intimate partner violence a part of public education, part of our public discourse; making it easier for survivors of domestic abuse to report their abuse and to get legal redress; prosecuting abusers; making gendered violence a hate crime; examining how partner abuse is not only about messed up family dynamics and about previous abuse but also about sexism and control. Treat domestic as seriously as you would treat, oh, Michael Vick's animal curelty. These things could possibly change patterns of abuse - not publishing a battered woman's photo without her permission. (Which is completely unethical, and you know it.)
Ugh. Your faux navel-gazing about being 'scummy' is what's wrong with how domestic violence gets covered in the media.
Posted by ding | February 23, 2009 10:04 AM
Posted on February 23, 2009 10:04