Chris Brown on Larry King: R&B Star Says He Can't Remember Beating Rihanna

TMZ has posted a clip from Chris Brown's interview with Larry King and though it is less than a minute long, it speaks volumes (see below). Chris Brown on Larry King is an attempt to begin the process of rehabilitating Chris Brown's image and, unfortunately, Chris Brown on Larry King does nothing to further that goal - it might have hampered it, in fact. Chris Brown on Larry King is accompanied by his mother, Joyce Hawkins, and his attorney Mark Garagos. They sat down together at CNN's Hollywood studios last Wednesday and taped an interview which is slated to air this Wednesday on "Larry King Live."

The day prior to taping the Larry King interview, a Los Angeles judge handed down 20-year-old Chris Brown five years of felony probation, 180 days of community labor and 52 weeks of domestic violence counseling as punishment for assaulting Rihanna.

Chris Brown on Larry King is his first high-profile broadcast interview (he gave a print interview to People) since the Chris Brown-Rihanna assault case hit the headlines. The incident began with the couple getting into a late-night fight in a rented car and culminated with Rihanna being savagely beaten and Chris Brown surrendering to Los Angeles police.

Oddly dressed in a powder blue pullover with a bow tie, Chris Brown told Larry King that he doesn't remember beating Rihanna to a pulp:

"No, I don't," said Brown, when Larry King asks him whether he remembers beating up his ex-girlfriend Rihanna. "It's like, it's crazy to me. I'm like, wow."

And when Larry King asked him about the shocking and violent details contained in the police report, Chris Brown had this to say:

"I just look at it like, wow, I'm in shock, 'cause first of all, that's not who I am as a person. When I look at the police reports or I hear about the police reports, I don't know what to think. I just don't know what to think. It's just like, wow."

The problem is that Chris Brown on Larry King does not appear to be sincere. It is very hard to believe that he doesn't remember beating Rihanna and, in addition, that he is wearing a nerdy outfit seems to be a very calculated attempt to soften up his image: "No, no, Chris is not a violent person. He's really just a wholesome nerd. See, he wears really goofy clothes."

It just doesn't fly. A sincere apology free of evasiveness and prevarication would have been a better way to go.

This is not to say that it is too late for Chris Brown to fully rehabilitate his image. He just needs to keep his nose clean, fulfill the conditions of his sentencing and continue to make great music. The kid is a hugely talented singer-songwriter and you'd think that this experience would give him some great material.

Sources:

Chris Brown - I Don't Rememer Beating Rihanna, TMZ

Chris Brown Sentenced to Five Years' Probation, MTV