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Chris Brown has responded to a petition looking to ban him from performing a pair of concerts in South Africa later this year.
A women’s rights advocacy group launched a petition that had nearly 40,000 signatures as of press time on Wednesday (Oct. 16), and C. Breezy hopped into the Women for Change Instagram comments with an unfazed reply to their efforts.
“Can’t wait to come,” Brown wrote with a heart emoji.
The comment was left under a post detailing Women for Change’s battle to stop gender-based violence. “Thanks to @darrencampher.com_ and everyone standing with us. This goes beyond Chris Brown – it’s about standing up for millions of survivors of Gender-Based Violence,” the caption reads. “Join us in demanding accountability, Sign the Petition!”
The embattled R&B superstar’s comment has over 6,000 likes as fans had plenty to say while chiming in to support Brown’s cheeky response. “Tickets are secured, lessss goo,” one excited fan wrote.
Women for Change initially launched the petition on Oct. 2 on Change.org. The BBC reports that South Africa has a long history of abuse and one of the “highest rates of femicide and gender-based violence in the world.”
According to the petition, the group wants the concert’s promoters and South African government to “reconsider” having Brown perform a pair of shows at Johannesburg’s FNB Stadium in mid-December.
“When I saw the news that Chris Brown was coming to South Africa, I was shocked and deeply disappointed,” Women for Change executive director Sabina Walter said to the BBC. “The petition was started to send a strong message that we will not tolerate the celebration of individuals with a history of violence against women.”
Walter added: “When someone like Chris Brown is given a platform in a country where GBV is at crisis levels, it sends a damaging message — that fame and power outweigh accountability.”
Even with the backlash, there remains an overwhelming demand for tickets to see Brown at his Dec. 14 and Dec. 15 shows. He reportedly sold out the 94,000-capacity venue in less than two hours, causing show organizers to add a second FNB Stadium date.
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In 2014, alternative-pop singer Banks made her debut with the emotive and experimental Goddess. The album scored the artist her highest charting entry on the Billboard 200 at No. 12.
Follow-ups The Altar (2016) and III (2019) entered at Nos. 17 and 21, respectively. And while her fourth album, 2022’s Serpentina, leaned heavier into experimental R&B production, Banks promises her forthcoming album is a return to form.
“In many ways, this album serves as a big sister to Goddess,” Banks shared in a statement of Off With Her Head, out Feb. 28. “After a decade apart, I’ve reunited with the core musicians and producers who shaped my debut. Yet, it also represents something entirely new, reflecting my growth as both an artist and a person.”
“[The album is] about shedding past identities that no longer resonate,” she tells Billboard. “The title symbolizes the various ways we construct, perform, express, and sometimes hide our thoughts. There’s a tension between how we see ourselves and the roles that society imposes. Breaking free from that has been incredibly liberating, and this journey is captured throughout the album.”
To coincide with the album announcement, Banks revealed her next single “Best Friends,” will arrive on Friday (Nov. 22). The song fittingly touches on the growing pains that often accompany growing apart.
In October, Banks returned with the sinewy “I Hate Your Ex-Girlfriend” featuring Doechii. It will also be included on Off With Her Head. But before that album arrives, Banks has a special treat for fans. On Dec. 13, she will release Goddess Unplugged, an acoustic version of her debut album as it celebrates its 10th anniversary.
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