As Tone Deaf reported last week, a planned Australian tour by controversial US singer Chris Brown has been met with backlash, becoming the centre of a grassroots campaign to see the R&B star banned from the country.
Critics cited the singer’s past history of domestic abuse as making him an unfit guest in Australia, particularly as the federal government embarks on a new initiative to address Australia’s problem with violence against women.
“Chris Brown’s Australian tour was announced last Thursday night, and immediately we got a couple of emails from Get Up members asking if we were going to do something,” Sally Rugg, of Get Up, who launched a petition to see Brown banned, told 774 ABC Melbourne.
Rugg said anyone who wishes to obtain an Australian visa must pass a character test, which precludes anyone with a substantive criminal record. Activist group Collective Shout attempted to ban rapper Tyler, The Creator on similar grounds earlier this year.
Indeed, Brown’s tour caught the attention of Australia’s new minister for women, Michaelia Cash, who promised that Australia’s minister for immigration and border protection would be reviewing Brown’s visa.
Over the weekend it was confirmed that the Federal Government was following through on its threat to block the singer from entering Australia, with numerous outlets reporting that Brown is now banned from the country.
However, the truth is slightly more nuanced than the headlines would lead one to believe. As ABC News reports, Immigration Minister Peter Dutton has confirmed that a Notice of Intention to Consider Refusal of Brown’s visa has been issued.
“However, the truth is slightly more nuanced than the headlines would lead one to believe.”
The notice is not an outright ban, but serves as more of a summons. “People to whom these notices are issued have 28 days to present material as to why they should be given a visa to enter Australia,” a spokesman said.
“Decisions on whether a visa will or will not be issued are made after that timeframe and consideration of the material presented to the Department of Immigration and Border Protection.” So Brown’s visa application has not been denied, yet.
According to Fairfax, Brown can either challenge the notice or withdraw his application to visit Australia, which is currently still scheduled for December. Ticketek confirmed to Fairfax that tickets for Brown’s tour will still go on sale today at midday.
Speaking to the Herald Sun earlier this month, a spokeswoman for Westgate, the promoters behind the tour, insisted there would not be any issues when it comes to the singer’s entry into Australia and that his 2011 arena tour and a 2012 festival appearance went off without a hitch.
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In 2009, Brown was convicted of assault and threatening to kill his then-girlfriend Rihanna. The brutal bashing saw Brown sentenced to five years probation, one year of domestic violence counselling, and six months of community service.
The incident was the first in a string of violent incidents involving the singer, whose sentence was extended following a scuffle outside a Washington DC hotel in 2013. The incident yielded a misdemeanour assault charge and two days in jail for Brown.
The singer was subsequently denied entry into the UK during a 2010 tour and was forced to cancel a planned Canadian tour in February this year after his visa application was rejected. Brown’s assault case was closed back in March after a judge found that he’d satisfied the terms of his probation.
