Rihanna is one of the most beautiful pop singers in the world. That’s why it’s a shame that her most infamous image came at her ugliest moment.
DETAILS: LEAKED! The LAPD Cops Who Sold Rihanna’s Photo Revealed
The picture I’m talking about, of course, is the confidential police image of the pop singer, taken by officers moments after her then-boyfriend, Chris Brown, beat her during a dispute.
The horrific images of a bloody, lumpy and miserable-looking Rihanna have become forever tattooed in our brain, and according to the Smoking Gun, we have two LAPD officers to blame: Rebecca Reyes and Blanca Lopez were the two officers who were responsible for obtaining the photos and most likely, selling them to TMZ.
STORY: SHOTS FIRED! Rihanna Throws Not So Subliminal Twitter Shade At Karrueche
The conclusion comes after a three-year investigation by the Internal Affairs Group. The results were given to LAPD Chief Charlie Beck, and he is the one who decides the fate of the two officers.
While reading the Smoking Gun’s story, I instantly had two questions that are somewhat related. One: what were the motives behind the two WOMEN police officers? Why would these women illegally steal a picture of another beaten woman and release them to the public? Was it all for financial gain? Did they want to embarrass Rihanna? Or, if you want to look at as non-cynically as possible, did they think this was a picture so jarring the world had to see, just to send a message to those in spousal abuse situations?
Honestly, only those two really know what the answer is, and whatever it is, it’s inexcusable and there’s no way to justify it.
None.
I hope they are both terminated.
The second question that came to my mind is how differently would this whole saga have played out if there was no public picture? If the only information that was released was Rihanna’s account of the situation?
It’s interesting because I truly believe that whole story unfolds differently, to the point where it becomes tiny bullet points on their respective Wikipedia pages, rather than their most infamous public moment.
And I have proof.
Back in the ’80s, Oscar-winning actor Sean Penn beat his then-wife Madonna multiple times. This included a incident where he hit her with a bat, and another one where he tied her to a chair.
Oscar-winning actress Halle Berry claims that a boyfriend hit her so hard she busted an eardrum and that she is deaf in that ear to this day. Actor Wesley Snipes has long been looked at as the man who did this.
Is there really much of a difference to what Chris Brown did, compared to the acts of Penn and Snipes?
Sure there is. Though all of the acts were barbaric, only in one of those incidents do we have a physical image of what abuse looks like.
Sean Penn, Madonna, Wesley Snipes and Halle Berry are no longer haunted by a past incident.
Chris Brown and Rihanna still are, and they will likely be forever.
And they have two middling, low-level officers to thank for it.
Incredible, isn’t it?
