Nick Cannon is responding to the backlash over his collaboration with Chris Brown on the forthcoming women’s basketball film, She Ball.
Cannon will write, direct, and co-star in the film, which features Brown and Evan Ross. But the decision to cast the R&B singer caught a little heat on Twitter:
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-lang=”en”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>Only women’s basketball movie I want chris brown to star in should be called “no more passes.”</p>— RAFAEL CASAL (@RafaelCasal) <a href=”https://twitter.com/RafaelCasal/status/943253655481868288?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>December 19, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-lang=”en”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>Nick Cannon obviously didn't think this through; women empowerment film yet casting a woman beater? lol k… <br><br>Chris Brown has been cast in a movie about women's basketball, and people are justifiably angry <a href=”https://t.co/FrcJ9J1EoY”>https://t.co/FrcJ9J1EoY</a> via <a href=”https://twitter.com/hellogiggles?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@hellogiggles</a></p>— amber nicole– (@AmberKCCO) <a href=”https://twitter.com/AmberKCCO/status/943940673090260992?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>December 21, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-lang=”en”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>It’s like someone was challenged to come up with the worst sentence ever. Ps glad to see this movie about WOMEN’S basketball is starring abuser Chris Brown as well as Nick Cannon, Evan Ross, and Cedric the Entertainer. COOL. <a href=”https://t.co/I9rWQSpS7n”>https://t.co/I9rWQSpS7n</a></p>— Allie Rivera (@alliebeingallie) <a href=”https://twitter.com/alliebeingallie/status/944247673820995584?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>December 22, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Last week, TMZ caught up with Cannon at LAX where he spoke in defense of Breezy and pointed out a double standard with black men and the media.
When asked specifically about the Twitter reactions to Brown being cast in the film, Cannon used Sean Penn as an example of a white celebrity who doesn’t endure the same scrutiny over his past.
Penn has long been accused of attacking his ex-wife, Madonna, with a baseball bat in 1987. Madonna denied the reported incident years later.
“They ever hate on his past?,” Cannon wondered of Penn, who has gone to win two Academy Awards.
Brown on the other hand, can’t seem to live down his past, which includes a 2009 assault on Rihanna, and a turbulent split from Karrueche Tran that led to her receiving a restraining order against him.
In regards to Breezy, Cannon added, “They want to turn a black man into a monster anytime they can.”
This article originally appeared in Vibe.