Band Refuses To Open For Chris Brown, Don’t Like That He Hit Rihanna

An Irish hip-hop band has refused the opportunity of a lifetime: an offer to open for Chris Brown.

The hip-hop trio The Original Rudeboys snubbed a lucrative offer from R&B star Chris Brown to open for him during a UK performance. The upcoming show, to take place at the 02 Arena in Dublin on December 3, would have proven a large and well-compensated appearance for The Original Rudeboys, if not for Chris Brown’s reputation as a woman beater.

The Original Rudeboys turned down the offer in light of Chris Brown’s now-infamous assault on then-girlfriend Rihanna in 2009. The couple split that year after he left her battered and bruised during an argument on the eve of the 2009 Grammy Awards. Brown was charged with assault, placed on probation, and ordered to stay away from Rihanna until the restraining order against him was lifted last year.

The Original Rudeboys feared that opening for Chris Brown would send the wrong message: one of support for the controversial R&B star’s actions.

Sean Walsh of The Original Rudeboys talked to the Irish TV station RTE about the band’s decision to turn down Brown’s offer:

“Even though it’s a huge opportunity to play in the O2 with a major hip-hop star and a substantial fee was offered, we are completely against Chris Brown’s assault on Rihanna… In addition, with our latest single “Blue Eyes” being about domestic violence, it goes against everything we are about as a band and supporting Chris Brown would send out the wrong message to our fans.”

If you think that The Original Rudeboys made the right call in turning down the offer, you can boost traffic to their website by paying it a visit, or check out their discography on iTunes.