Someone at Gucci is breathing a sigh of relief. If you hadn’t seen a magazine, Gucci’s retail store, or the online articles, Rihanna was the face of Gucci’s Tattoo Heart Handbag collection campaign that ran only from November 19 to January 31^st. With so much promise, Gucci promoted Rihanna as the young and modern iconic woman, the perfect face of Gucci. The world sat at her fingertips. A short eight days later, February 8^th, her world busted as Rihanna’s private sufferings from the hands of her boyfriend Chris Brown, became public. Her bloodied, swollen and bruised photos of her face splashed across the news; the description of the violence she suffered terrifying. (According to a police affidavit, Chris Brown allegedly punched her repeatedly, tried to push her out of the car, bashed her head against the window, bit her ear and fingers, and choked her until she nearly passed out.) Despite the public screams of “Why?” and the resurgence about domestic violence and dating violence issues across the airwaves, Rihanna ran back to be with him. Well, we can remain stunned and paralyzed knowing that the “assault” could turn into a “homicide.” We can blame someone and resort to name calling. We can label each of them a “victim” of his or her upbringing and environment that was tainted with violence. Or we can try to do something and plead that violence never equates to love. Moreso, we know that class is not the issue as Rihanna and Chris Brown had all the money and fame they could desire, but rather fear, control, and a distorted view of love and oneself cloud one’s vision to remain in a violent relationship. Now, the turmoil of their relationship has damaged their soaring careers. I’m sure Gucci will probably not use Rihanna’s face in any campaign soon and Chris Brown’s musical career has been derailed as he faces criminal charges and jail time. In the end, the effects of violence are long term. The longer the struggle, the more difficult it becomes to regain oneself. Stop the cycle. For anyone here in Hawaii in this situation, get help now.

Domestic Violence Organization: http://www.hscadv.org/

Domestic Violence Shelters: http://www.divorcesource.com/shelters/hawaii.shtml

http://www.hawaiifamilyforum.org/issues/domestic_violence.php

http://www.hawaiipolice.com/policeHotlines/domestic_abuse.html

Dating violence:

http://www.acadv.org/dating.html

http://www.ncvc.org/ncvc/main.aspx?dbID=DB_DatingViolenceResourceCenter101

Definition of dating violence: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teen_Dating_Violence

 -Stephanie Matsumoto, Esq. is an attorney and image consultant that advises companies, athletes, and individuals on branding; produces fashion shows; gives seminars on dressing for success; and has appeared on radio, television, and in print.

Email me at stephanie@stephaniematsumotostyle.com

Tags: bruise, chris brown, dating violence, domestic violence, gucci, rihanna, stephanie matsumoto

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