Singer and recent GAP ambassador Ciara has come under fire for her upcoming collaboration with Chris Brown. The “Level Up” singer posted a clip of herself and Chris Brown on Wednesday posing together for a camera while a snippet from their collaboration plays in the background. The song they are set to release Friday is titled, “How We Roll.” It features a sleek, R&B sound typical of Ciara and Brown’s music. In the clip, Brown has his head on Ciara’s shoulder while she makes hand signs.
The snippet has been received with mix reviews.
Differing Opinions
Some fans of Ciara have criticized her decision to make a song with Chris Brown who pleaded guilty in 2009 to one count of felony assault on pop star Rihanna.
“Linking up with a loser to produce mid is such a bold choice,” writer, Sharine Taylor, tweeted alongside the clip.
Other fans on Twitter had dissenting opinions on the upcoming release.
“The hate & screams on Twitter don’t resonate with what happens in the real world. You ppl need to accept the fact that your faves dgaf. The women in the industry are not your allies. From the young ones to the older one if they get a chance to collaborate with him they jump on it,” one user noted.
Another user pointed out the futility of calling out Ciara’s decision.
“Before y’all come in and type a paragraph of disgust, backspace it right now. There is no hope At this point. these women made a choice to support him And there is nothing we can do about it,” they wrote.
Aside from the assault case involving Rihanna, in 2017 a restraining order was issued against Brown in favor of another former partner, Karruche Tran. Over the years he has been accused and sometimes found guilty of other cases involving assault. For some critics, his collaboration with Ciara feeds into the running theory that his colleagues are attempting to launder his troubled image.
Famous Black women such as Kelly Rowland have come to his defense in recent times, while he scored a collaboration with Chlöe Bailey and featured Normani in one of his videos.