Jezebel: mea culpas

Chris Brown On Larry King Live: "It's Just, Like, Wow"

Tracie — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 12:00:00 EDT

CNN has released a clip of Chris Brown's pre-taped interview, set to air Wednesday on Larry King Live. In it, Brown says that he doesn't remember hitting Rihanna, saying, "I'm like, it's crazy to me. I'm like, wow."

Brown also says that when he hears reports of what he did to his ex-girlfriend, "I just look at it like, wow. I'm in shock, because that's not who I am as a person…I don't know what to think. It's just like, wow."

On the infamous photo of Rihanna's beaten face, Brown says, "When I look at it now, it's just like, wow. I can't believe that that actually happened."

Brown's mother Joyce Hawkins was also present for the interview, and says that she was "totally shocked" by his assault because "Chris has never ever been a violent person."

However, reports have come out that Brown and Rihanna's relationship was plagued with violence. The couple got in a shoving match in Europe three months prior to the February incident. Also, in January 2009, the couple got into an argument in a car in Barbados, during which Brown exited the vehicle and smashed the driver and passenger side windows.

Chris Brown says he still loves Rihanna [CNN]
Chris Brown and Rihanna Had a History of Violence [People]
Chris Brown Tells PEOPLE: 'I Still Love Rihanna' [People]

In yesterday's post about Orthodox Jews...

Jessica — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 09:45:00 EST

In yesterday's post about Orthodox Jews and anorexia, I made some incorrect generalizations about the dress codes among the Orthodox. I was wrong. I have pants-wearing, high-powered job-having, New Orthodox cousins, and so it's especially bad that I spoke so sloppily. And I'm sorry! I'm not sorry about Tefillin Barbie, however. She rocks. — Jessica

Dear California, I Am A Heartless Bitch

Moe — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 12:00:27 EDT

Dear folks, I have spent a lot of time in San Diego and am pretty familiar not only with its economic and ethnic and political diversity, but with many of its residents, to whom I must now apologize for saying something so insensitive at a time of such urgency and horror. Look, I hate tragedy and destruction too. When I wrote that I didn't feel bad about the fires engulfing "the Hills" right now I was trying to make a point about how the presence of Heidi and Spencer and Britney and the Terminator and assorted other tabliverse regulars had inured me to the tragedy in much the way the presence of impoverished black people inured a lot of people to the tragedy of Katrina. In part, I blame watching The O'Reilly Factor last night.

You should have seen it; he had a body language expert analyze whether Ellen Degeneres was "faking" her on-screen breakdown and assorted other treasures. Anyway so my insensitivity was sort of preemptive to the insensitivity I anticipated from him and Hannity and friends, which upon reflection was a bad call; I mean obviously, fuck what those guys think. I really hate people who think the answer to the Right's lack of human empathy is to pretend anyone on the Right is not human, so why did I just almost become one of them?

Frankly, San Diego, I do not give a shit if you voted for Bush or Kerry in the last election: I ache for your losses either way. I am also impressed by your heroism and resourcefulness. It still saddens me to say I have more confidence that, when it all blows over, most of you will rebuild your houses and lives quicker and more successfully than the victims of disaster in most other corners of the world; I think that's just how liberals are. It reminds me of the time, during Katrina, that I met a Kerry campaigner in Ohio who mused that he wished the death toll would go higher and reach that of 9/11.... well, fuck if that's not a warped way to have to think about things!

Anyway, so: I am really, really thankful for every Californian whose life was spared in this, including those of all the celebrities whose photos = my livelihood, and from now on I hope we can all just drop all the schadenfreude and learn to be inspired by our fellow humans for once.

Ha ha ha, that last part was a joke.