Jossip strikes out again!

It is COMPLETELY unethical to post a photo of a battered woman.

Imagine if you were physically or sexually assaulted and in addition to the emotional trauma you are already suffering you have to deal with the additional trauma of having your battered face posted all over the internet.

The fact that Rihanna is a celebrity doesn't change this.

Interestingly Rihanna could sue anyone and everyone who posts this photo of her in the public domain–not just TMZ but everyone else. Just like a rape victim can sue anyone that publishes his or her name in the public domain.

I am very shocked that Jossip felt the need to publish this photo. Jossip should have taken the same route as Gawker or even Dlisted or Perez Hilton and just noted that it is accessible through TMZ.

Once again I cannot stress highly enough how unethical it is for Jossip to post an illegally obtained photo of a domestic abuse victim.

First Jossip posted an article defending Chris Brown–trying to rationalize his attack–then yesterday it posted an article defending Sean Delonas for his racist bigoted cartoon when it could have remained silent.

What in the hell is going on here? What happened to Jossip? Are they going to be posting snuff films next?

Off with his head.

And I expect Jossip to do the right thing and:

(1) remove this photo of Rihanna

(2) issue a public apology to Rihanna and all women everywhere for publishing the photo; and

(3) send a letter to Rihanna through her publicist making the same apology

@ American Dreamer

Um, the same route as Gawker?

http://gawker.com/5156991/rihanna-picture-emerges

So you think we should have posted the GIANT picture?

@cord:

So you think it is ethical to post an illegally obtained photo of a domestic abuse victim?

I am a lawyer and let me assure you that Rihanna could (and should) sue not only TMZ but also Jossip and anyone else that posts the photo.

And if I were her lawyer I would get a cease and desist order requiring the photo to be taken down pending my lawsuit.

Does it thrill you to see this photo Cord?

Any other women out there offended by this?

@AMERICAN DREAMER:

I am not offended by this. I think Cord's post was illuminating a reality, that other’s try not to touch on because they are afraid of consequences like this. There are ethical questions that all social commentators make when writing, filming, and recording but the point that cord is making is a just one.

@maria:

But tell me if you were physically beaten by your boyfriend how would you feel if those pictures suddenly ended up on Face Book or MySpace or elsewhere for your co workers and family and friends to see? Tell me!

I was the victim of a sexual assault, went to the hospital, demanded the police meet me at the hospital, was photographed, took my own photographs and it was all taken care of in a private manner. The very idea of my name being published someplace or even worse the photos being published someplace makes my mind reel.

While Rihanna is a celebrity her feelings must have been the same as mine.

Regardless of what you think it is flatly illegal to post these photos. I hope that Rihanna at least sues TMZ for releasing them. Otherwise the floodgates are opened to exposing almost anything.

I wish America had the same stricter laws that apply in Britain that shut this kind of thing down much faster.

i am offended, but not by jossip publishing this photo. i'm offended that a cop felt the desire to make a buck stronger than his duty to protect. i'm offended by tmz in general. but most importantly i am offended by chris brown. cord's right that this photo is almost neccessary to bring CDV to the public eye. i work for an attorney, and i see photos and cases like this everyday. the man ALWAYS says the woman did something to deserve it, and since the photo evidence remain private, it is hard to prove him wrong. No woman deserves to look like that by the hand of the man she loves. the 12 year olds that worship chris brown have been swarming the message boards saying, "wait till the full story comes out, then you'll see." well, the full story is out with this photo, and there is no way that you can look at it and not be outraged with chris or the patriarchal system which permits this to happen. there is no way you can think about HOW this photo entered the public without being disgusted with everyone involved. and jossip is not involved. they provide social/media commentary, and by discussing this photo they are simply doing their job.

American Dreamer, will you join me for an apple martini?

I'm not at all offended by this.
The thing is, I don't actually think that seeing this photo will make people realize how bad physical abuse of women is or anything. If you don't know by now and you fucking have access to the internet etc., a photo or an emotional recount won't do anything. I really think people are just interested because of the entertainment aspect. If you've been raped and you decide to tell a close friend, they'll be killing themselves trying not to ask for more details out of curiosity. It's interesting to people. That's all.

And about Chris Brown… sometimes people forget that the reason they're so "good" themselves is because they had the luxury of good parents.

@I don't think Bert and Ernie are gay… just looking for the right women.:

RE: "good" parents

that's a great point.

"In the meantime, the more people see the real ugly side of misogyny, the more likely they'll be to stop subjugating and demeaning the women of the world."

That's a lovely sentiment, cord, but sadly this photo will mostly serve as an excuse for Chris Brown's crazed fans to debate what she did to "deserve" it.

Yes, it's important for people to see the ugly reality of domestic abuse — but it's ALSO important that the spokeswomen (and men) for these situations step into that role voluntarily. Rihanna never signed on to be a lesson. This picture was published explicitly without her permission.

I wouldn't have hit "publish" on this one, myself. You can't tell me you guys aren't eyeing the page views you'll get from this?

i really don't believe that it was appropriate to publish this photo. maybe in the future but not at this point (this only happened a couple weeks ago). i think the positive point in this situation is that they are both really young and can get past this with the help of therapy and anger management. we talk about these individuals and forget that they are children. what were you doing at 19 and 20 years old. it's likely that you were the perpetrator or victim of some kind of abuse (whether emotional or physical). Be clear, Chris Brown should have never put his hands on her. At the same time society loves to involve themselves in other people's lives while dumbing down the situation. This should force us to open the dialogue about any type of abuse going on in our own communities as well as discuss the risks of being in volatile relationships. Many couples hit eachother and we just don't discuss it enough. we need to understand that the hand that loves you cannot be the hand that harms you. that message needs to be shared with our friends and loved ones. we need to stop picking sides and make sure that these children are built back up to become the people they should be.

No need to dumb down this situation. The guy is a steaming piece of crap.

@I'mthirsty:

i was just thinking the same thing! i am meeting my friends at the bar of the W hotel in times square after work. come join us! i'll be the tall blonde in the green dress with the pink butterfly applique in my hair.

"It's unfortunate that the photo will be a source of embarrassment for Rihanna for years to come…"

Really? She gets beaten up and it "unfortunately" should be embarrassing to HER? Wow way to perpetuate the idea that the victim should feel shame. A source of anger, maybe, or a source of sadness. The only one who anybody should imply should feel embarrassed is the low-life who did that to her, and what's unfortunate is that he probably never will.

Get a life and F off.

You're saying that the photo "should" be a source of "embarassment" for Rihanna for years to come??!?!?!

Yes! Shame on her!

What upsets me most about this whole thing is the complete ignorance of a woman's perspective to domestic abuse.

WHo is to say that is even a real picture… it looks nothing like her and yes a beating would make u look different but not that different i think it is someone else or fake

Also yea its sad i feel bad for her but if he has done it before she should have left him the first time and honestly just because this happened doesnt mean i will stop listening to his music either which happens to be a huge topic…. it is good music no matter who sang it

Everyone who said that picture isn't her, what the **** are u smoking??? That tattoo is hers, there are sites that show that exact same one she has in that photo. I hope Chris Brown gets beat up too. And it is SAD when he has to beat a woman. Shows his courage right?

NOBODY NEVER TALKED ABOUT VIOLENCE BEFORE. PEOPLE THAT ARE NOT FAMOUS DEAL WITH THIS ALL THE TIME AND NEVER HAS ANY HELP. THE ONE'S THAT ARE NOT FAMOUS NEVER HAD THERE BUSINESS IN THE NEWS SAYING THEY WERE BEAT AND HURT BY THIS GUY. PEOPLE THAT ARE NOT FAMOUS NEVER GET FAIR DEALS LIKE RIHANNA IS GETTING. PEOPLE THAT ARE NOT FAMOUS NEVER GOT WHAT CHRIS BROWN AND RIHANNA IS GOING THROUGH RIGHT NOW . BUT NOW SINCE CHRIS BROWN DID IT AND HE'S FAMOUS, EVERYBODY WANTS TO SAY VIOLENCE IS WRONG, IT'S NOT THE ANSWER. IF CHRIS HAD TO DO ALL THAT JUST TO GET SOMEBODY TALKING ABOUT VIOLENCE, THEN HE DID A GOOD JOB. YES I'M A WOMAN AND YES I'M BLACK. YEAH HE DID IT IN A WRONGFUL WAY AND COULD HAVE SAID IT IN DIFFERENT WAY. BUT SINCE SOMEBODY FAMOUS DID IT , YA'LL NOW WANNA START TALKING ABOUT VIOLENCE IF ALL THIS HAD TO HAPPEN TO GET THESE PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT VIOLENCE THEN HE REALLY DID A GOOD JOB. NOW YALL KNOW THAT VIOLENCE IS WRONG HUH? JUST CAUSE CHRIS BROWN DID IT AND THE VICTIM WAS RIHANNA. NOW YALL KNOW HUH? HE GETS A PAT ON THE BACK FOR LETTING YALL RECOGNIZE THAT VIOLENCE ISN'T THE ANSWER BUT HE'S ALSO WRONG FOR DOING IT IN A PHYSICAL WAY INSTEAD OF ACTUALLY GETTING IN A GROUP AND START TALKING ABOUT IT. I STILL SUPPORT CHRIS BROWN AND RIHANNA. THERE'S NO NEED FOR HIM TO LOSE HIS FANS FOR ONE INCIDENT BUT HE STILL HAS ALOT OF TRUE FANS OUT THERE. CHRIS BROWN YOU ARE NOT ALONE EITHER. RIHANNA ISN'T THE ONLY ONE BEING SUPPORTED. YOU ARE TO CHRIS. YOU'RE NUMBER ONE FAN………..TRULY

There is no justification for the publication of this photo beyond the truth: you are trying to gain attention and viewers.

If you are going to perpetuate the abuse of this woman (Rihanna) by flashing the injuries of her assault all over the internet, against her will (certainly), and without her control, because you are a sensationalistic pop media blog that cares about its bottom line, that is one thing. But do not pretend to do so under the guise of "helping end domestic assault".

I research gender-based violence for a living, and have worked in this field many years, and let me tell you, this in no way, shape or form is helpful. If you would like to be helpful, try providing some information, resources,educated dialogue or links to community-based anti-abuse organizations. Not your job? Well then, neither is publishing invasive photos of post-domestic assault survivor injuries and claiming that you are suddenly a source of anti-domestic violence education.

@ANONYMOUS: Hey jerkwad! I didn't even bother to read what you had to say as YOU HAVE YOUR CAPS KEY LOCKED ON.

Bullwinkle J. Moose on the topic, "I like violence because they smell so sweet" 1962

American Dreamer, nice choice with the pink butterfly applique!

I insist that you let me buy drinks.

Wow this is really sad, I feel bad for Rhianna, I know and understand domestic violence and IT CAN BE very embarassing for the victim, this has to be one of the worse things she will face in this life…she is be traumatized, but she will get stronger, I don't think these pcs should have came up, maybe later… if at all, they are alot worse than I think anyone thought…what gets me is people like L who still want to believe someone is innocent, lets wait and see, its probably a fake kind of stuff…it reminds my alot of the lacy peterson's (Scott) hubands so Hot craziness, I mean dude is in jail for killing his wife and women still want him…it is really SAD and SICK, some people need to wake up!

Oh, nice try, ya guys. You are being so unreasonable. He's not saying she should be embarassed, but it's a FACT that women get embarassed. Not because they feel like they're to blame a lot of the time, either. Because people are pouring over you with sympathy. And it's a damn private matter. I don't know about you, American Dreamer, but I would never tell someone in real life if I could help it because I was about to once and you should have seen the person's fucking face. If anything, you feel guilty about all the sympathy you get.

It was also shown on CNN last night.

@Sebbe:

It was briefly shown on Oprah yesterday, too.

as someone who was recently physically abused by my husband and now going through counselling–I realize that I was being abused mentally and emotionally throughout the relationship…so I can only guess this was not the first time Chris had been abusive towards Rhianna.
One of the first emotions I felt when I began counselling was shame…shamed that I had stayed in a relationship so long, exposing myself and children to how a relationship should NOT be. I can only imagine that it must be similar for Rhinanna, dealing with the knowledge that it was not a healthy relationship and allowing it to get to this point (when you should know better)…Now the whole world knows too…
So on one hand, exposing these pics by anyone is wrong. However, it has been done. What history has shown us is that it often takes celebrities and their mishaps to expose the ugly truth about things like domestic abuse…and I hope this is exactly what it does…helping women speak out and to not be afraid to expose their perpetrader.

This image is everywhere. Seriously cant put it back in pandoras box! It spread viral to tens of thousands of videos over night. This one was one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiEedZ3PmOs TM zee let it go.

that pic is completely wrong and someone should get punished to the fullest…wat do people get out of seeing the pictures of her??? it just made the situation worst. seriously someone should face jail time…

Why should she feel wronged or shamed by the picture? I would not feel shamed. I was abused once by one man one time and that was all it took to get the hell away from him. Let Chris Brown rot in hell for what he did. And I hope Rhianna gets the help she needs not to go back to him or date anyone like him again. Let this be a lesson for all of us and not the subject of shame.

Firstly, as a lady, i dont feel offended by the publication of the photo. personally, i feel that the public should have a chance to see and and make judgement themselves.
i am a Singaporean (Asian), and i dont really get to understand the 'real' situation through everyday news, if not because of websites like this. people can discuss about the popularity of rihanna why not the negative side too?
but still, ultimately, its still how individual look at things. people come from different background and have different set of thinking…

They SHOULD have printed it, and HE, not she, should be embarrassed. All women who are abused should step forward in anger, not shame, and put how they have been treated in the public eye. Having everyone he knows see this puts it in HIS face. It takes away his attempts at glossing it over.

But women need to NOT continue in relationships with men like this. We need to all say this is wrong, and we will not put up with this treatment. She is an enabler if she does not immediately dump him. I hope his career is over.

This photo got totally fucking blown out of porportion. What the hell can we do? Writing these silly comments sure as hell won't help, I don't know why I am writing one anyways.

And all those haters of what Chris Brown did to Rhianna;grow a fucking dick. Welcome to the real world! There is way worse shit than what Rihanna got for a beating. And guess what!? They have a personal life… so fucking respect that.

What happens is that because the person is a public figure, people think it's okay to get information (and see photos) about everything in their entire lives, when in actuality, this abused woman deserves the same respect as any other abused woman; famous or not.

Angela

Backlinks

ok everyone keeps sayin that it wrong to be on the internet well guess what thats what comes along with being a celebrity if she didnt want a picture out there she shouldnt have taken any and why should she be embarrassed it happened to her it is sad and do u think it was right then for pics to be shown of britney goin to a psychiatric ward? that is embarrassing not getting beaten that is just sad

and screw all you people who say u are offended he didnt hit u, no one posted stuff about u so shut up with all your selfish crap get over yourselves

Release of this photo is a violation of the HIPPA rules and the person should be prosecuted. A complete invasion of privacy

@ American Dreamer-

Im not offended in th least by this photo. I was an abuse victim, I feel people should be made aware of just how serious and common demestic abuse is. I dont think its fair for people to learn this at rihanna's expense and i am sad that rihanna has to suffer what she would probably consider terrible humiliation.

@butterfree: ur rite i hate her ugly ass so muchh i really think ur right

Rihanna is used to seein her picture on the internet and places it should not be. Thats the life of a celebrity. Im not sayin it's right but thats the way it is. Maybe if she quit spreading STD's then she won't have to worry about this kind of stuff happening.

THIS WAS JUST HORRIBLE I CANT BELIEVE CHRIS BROWN WOULD DO SOMETHING SO DISTRIBING!!!!

if you see a more zoomed out pic of this girl you see a specific tattoo on her shoulder (roman numbers) and rihanna does NOT have this tattoo so this is not rihanna.

I FYUCKING LAUGH AT THIS AND I LOVE IT
haha fucking rhianna. your gay so FUICC OFF

oh by the way "CENA"

that roman numeral tattoo is real and really rihanna's
as its the birthday of her best friend or some shit.

to all them people going on about the photo
shes a celebrity shes used to it
so whatever !

I think its awful what happened to Rihanna. It's horrible looking at the picture of her! I will always love you Rihanna! Chris Brown is bad!!

"as someone who was recently physically abused by my husband and now going through counselling–I realize that I was being abused mentally and emotionally throughout the relationship…so I can only guess this was not the first time Chris had been abusive towards Rhianna."

Your life and Rhianna's might not be the same, did you consider that?

I feel that its okay to have these pictures up here. Rihanna and every other famous person know that the lifestyle they chose will no longer be private once they become famous. If Rihanna wasnt famous, and this same thing happend to another celebrity then im sure she would be up on the internet trying to look at pictures to. i have no sympathy for Rihanna but i hope she gets better. and regardless if they write an apology letter to rihanna, there are thousands of sites with her pictures up there so why should they have to apologize? it just doesnt make since to me.

I know it's wrong to post this picture and it is very embarassing to rihanna and all that but I also think it's important that people that people see this because it's only going to encourage more and more people to drop chris brown which is what should happen and this picture will only help enforce people to forget about him. There's a lesson he needs to learn and if this helps then (even as embarassing and illegal as this may be) I think it should be put out there. There are repercussions for stuff like this and losing a career of fame and fortune might be one.

Do you all really think Brown's career will be in shambles? Sure everyone hates a woman beater.. everyone also wants the latest scoop on the drama setter himself. Look at how covered this story was in the first place. People will know his name and buy his things because of this situation. Sure no company may want him but money talks and sure enough he'll be back in the game in no time. Would have been a great publicity stunt if only it truly was.

Chris brown did not do that soo yall need too stop lyin on my man

I agree with American Dreamer. You've humiliated Rihanna and bashed Chris Brown but the fact of the matter is, THEY ARE BACK TOGETHER NOW. wompwompwomp

@AMERICAN DREAMER: in response to your comment … "What upsets me most about this whole thing is the complete ignorance of a woman's perspective to domestic abuse."

Do you think you can speak for all women?? Is your perspective is the only acceptable one??

Im a woman and no I dont think posting the picture is offensive, I think Chris Browns behavior is offensive and if this helps bring to light what a scum bag he is so be it. And for the record I think Rhianna is a fool for going back to him, Im guessing the next beating will be even worse as these things tend to escalate in severity. Too bad that she may end up learning that the hard way.

Im not offended that the photo was made public, Im offended that people would rather hide it and pretend it didnt happen. So what if the world sees what he did??? I hope people do take notice and I hope his album sales fall because of it. The fact that Rhianna is a celebrity doesnt sway me one way or the other!. If his victim had been some unknown groupie I still think the world should know. Tell me, why are some people here so protective of Rhianna?? Its not as if shes not the first domestic abuse or violent crime victim whose photo made the news and sadly she wont be the last.

To those of you who are screaming for lawsuits and demanding apologies… I wonder.. are you so vocal when the victim on the nightly news isnt famous. What if the victim is the lady you occasionally see at the local market? Then one day you wake up and find pictures of her bruised face flashed for all to see on the nightly news while the cops are busy trying to track down her assailant. Do you jump up then too and demand lawsuits and apologies, or do you just flip the channel and go on about your day????

i personally was trying to find a picture to see what was up. without this picture i would have no idea how serious it was. i am a woman and i have a shout out to all women: HIT BACK

and to you women beaters out there… don't ever mess with me cuz i won't take it

@Amanda: amen sister. i agree!

Hey .."TATIANA"…

Use English sweety.

i'm gonna have to guess Yo' man has kicked ur ass a few times too…or, wait,… are you one of those strong black women..?

@amanda
totally agree! that should have known all these is coming even though it is not stated in that black and white contract! they did choose that route no matter they were willing or not in the first place!

i'm just curious and now that i've seen it, i'm done. thx

i don't agree with this picture being posted ALL over the web, but it's not Jossip's fault, at least not to me. YES, its a good way to show the REAL LIFE situations that, in this case some celebrities and alot of middle and low class people suffer from. Why did it have to take a celebrity couple to slide the point across remains unknown. I give my sympathy for Rihanna and i pray this will never happen to her again because, as a woman, she should be respected. Every woman should be respected, even if she did something "wrong". TMZ is repulsive to me because this is what their employees do for a living, and the officer they so called got this picture from is just as low. Everyone should pay attention to her story and realize that this is not the first time this has happened to women. It's been going on for years.
As for Chris Brown, he had no real rights to put his hands on her in any abusive way shape or form, some say its from his parents not raising him the right way. Could be. but again that's bringing his mother into the situation and being disrepectful to her. I'm sure he learned his lesson and i hope this doesnt happen again.

this is one scar that won't ever go away for her..

@Jayboee;: Well you make a lot of sense, I must say. I don't watch the TMZ show very often because I always feel obligated to shower afterwards.

@fanofgrendel: haha, yeah i agree. i can't believe they actually do this kind of bull for a living. its stupid and below themselves. i'm sure the people that work there aren't that stupid in their daily lives. I HOPE ONE OF YOU TMZ EMPLOYEES ARE READING THIS!!!!! ya'll are wwwwaaayyyy better than that.. i'm sure most of you went to college, go do something with that degree and make some REAL money. :) you wouldnt want all you're personal business all over the web and on TV. You only find it entertaining because it's not your face busted up or your body parts being flashed in someones camera..