R&B singer Jill Scott ignited a social media firestorm this weekend after praising Chris Brown’s talents in a tweet posted Sunday. The comment comes on the heels of a public feud between Brown and rapper Quavo, where both musicians traded insults in their music.

Quavo’s latest response track released Monday, name drops multiple women in the industry linked to Brown, including Saweetie, Karrueche Tran, Teyanna Taylor, referencing Brown’s well-documented history of domestic violence. Most notably, in 2009, Brown pleaded guilty to felony assault charges against his then-girlfriend, singer Rihanna. It’s important to note Quavo also faced backlash in 2021, after surveillance footage filmed inside an elevator showed a physical altercation between him and then-girlfriend Saweetie.

Scott’s praise for Brown, despite his past, sparked outrage from many fans, especially after she doubled down on her statement. When Twitter user @ChrissyLcsw responded to Scott’s original post praising Brown, stating “I think the women he’s abused would disagree,” the singer responded with a personal anecdote that fans seemed to think were off-key.

Responses argued that separating the artist from the art becomes difficult when abuse cycles continue.

“Mind you he’s harassing Karrueche up until today” said @ SunBirdZAKH, referencing that since the five-year restraining order Tran placed on the singer expired in 2022, Brown has continued to like and reshare Tran’s Instagram posts as recently as last month.

Others pointed to generations of patriarchy and misogyny:

“I’m not sure how old Jill Scott is, but she seems to still be residing in her generation’s factory settings of male worship and patriarchy” tweeted @ carlosjharris.

“being an abuser apologist is thinking talent somehow cancels out abuse and should always override it. being an abuser is not a mistake everybody makes. he ruined his own legacy” tweeted @moodyspiceee.

This isn’t the first time Scott has addressed complex issues surrounding love and relationships. In 2015, she denounced BIll Cosby after publicly supporting him a year prior, citing she had not seen proof of the drugging and sexual assault allegations against Cosby. However, her comments have left some fans questioning her stance on domestic violence.

According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, 1 in 4 women experience stalking, physical, and/or sexual violence by an intimate partner. About 1 in 3 women, and 1 in 4 men, experience physical violence, including behaviors like slapping, shoving, or pushing, which may not be widely considered domestic violence. Though this is a prevalent issue, survivors do not always feel empowered to leave, and oftentimes, this lack of support comes at the hands of other women.

The  #MeToo movement has pushed for more accountability in abuse against women, leading to fans calling out famous women who defend or align themselves with male celebrities accused of abuse.   For example, singer Erykah Badu notably defended R.Kelly even after a Lifetime documentary exposed the extent of his crimes.

According to Psychology Today, the reason why, or a contributing factor may be the deep-rooted prevalence of patriarchy and misogyny in society has instilled the hatred and prejudice of women into women themselves, creating internalized misogyny, or internalized sexism.

“Women are constantly inundated with messaging and acts of misogyny that drill into us that we are ‘less than’, that we do not deserve bodily autonomy, and that men are superior. We absorb this,” freelance writer Chloe Laws said in a 2023 Glamour UK article. “They don’t live quietly in us, instead, they are regurgitated and parroted out into the world, adding to the system of oppression. The oppressed becomes the oppressor.”

Though Scott has since recanted her position on Brown. She took to Twitter yesterday to say:

“Walked away, came back, googled, read tweets, listened to friends & considered the state of us as a whole. Some,  lead with love ( YOU gave me perspectives to consider & directive. THANK YOU ). Some a you ONLY want the highs of war. You may have your war.”

She followed up this morning thanking fans for their helpful comments.

Other times women got backlash for publicly supporting Brown

Though Rihanna has publicly stated that she forgives Brown for the abuse inflicted on her, many fans have not. Since the 2009 Grammys incident, celebrities have continued to face backlash for collaborating with Brown.

In 2019, fans were critical of singer Normani’s decision to appear in his music video for WE (Warm Embrace, pointing out her history of working with Rihanna, including becoming the first-ever brand ambassador of the singer’s lingerie brand Savage X Fenty.

In 2023, singer Chlöe Bailey also received backlash for her choice to feature Brown on the single “How Does It Feel.” Many felt she had a wealth of other collaborators to choose from.

“Is it really that difficult to not work with known abusers or do ppl in the industry just not care at all,” an Instagram user commented on her post, according to Billboard.

A few months later, Bailey later responded to criticism on the V-103 podcast.

“I always just wanna let the music speak for itself,” said Bailey. “And to be honest, no matter what I do, people always find things to say about it, so I’m used to it. I just choose to ignore it. People have every right to their opinions, freedom of speech, and it’s up to me to choose what I give my attention and energy to.”

Kelly Rowland presented the winner of the Favorite Male R&B Artist award at the 2022 American Music Awards, which Brown won. While he was not in attendance, the crowd booed when his name was called, to which Rowland told the audience to “chill out” and congratulated Brown, accepting the award on his behalf.

When a TMZ reporter later asked if Brown needed to be forgiven, she responded:

“We all need to be forgiven for anything that we could be doing, anything that we’re thinking. We all come up short in some sort of way, and grace is real. And we are humans. Everybody deserved grace, period.”

As the two artists continue to feud, the conversation of forgiveness verses distancing from abusers remain to be seen.