Vault: Chris Brown The New York Interview

Summary

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The Bert Show: Vault – Chris Brown The New York Interview

Episode Date: May 5, 2026
Main Hosts: Bert, Chris, Wendy
Episode Theme:
A deep dive and discussion sparked by Chris Brown’s recent media appearances, his new single “Crawl,” and the broader topic of accountability and public redemption following his infamous domestic violence incident with Rihanna. The episode assesses Brown’s attempts at apology, the public’s reaction, and the responsibility of celebrities in the wake of serious personal failings.

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Episode Overview

The Bert Show team reacts to Chris Brown's latest song release and media interviews, particularly zeroing in on the overlap between his PR moves and Rihanna’s own new single which addresses her experience. Using clips from a recent New York interview, the hosts and listeners explore whether Chris Brown is genuinely remorseful, if he's handling his return to the spotlight appropriately, and where the public stands on forgiveness and accountability.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Timing of Chris Brown's Release

• [00:46–01:41] The hosts note the awkward timing of Chris Brown releasing photos and a new single closely following Rihanna’s emotionally charged single “Russian Roulette,” which speaks to her trauma.
• Wendy: “It was kind of Rihanna’s moment...and then Chris Brown put out, like, still photos from his video shoot...and then has put out this new single called ‘Crawl’ actually following Rihanna’s release. His is out today.”
• The cast suggests Brown is hijacking Rihanna’s narrative moment, possibly as a calculated career move.

2. Reading & Reacting to the Song ‘Crawl’

• [01:41–02:26] The hosts reflect on the lyrics and emotional impact of “Crawl,” with Wendy highlighting the only "allowed" form of communication between Brown and Rihanna due to the restraining order.
• Wendy: “He’s not supposed to talk to her or email her or contact her for five years...so this is really the only way he can get his message to her.”

3. Listeners’ Reactions – Emotional and Polarized

• [02:35–03:26] Callers voice strong opinions, with some feeling disgusted by Brown’s efforts and others empathizing with him.
• Ellen (Caller) [02:35]: “Oh my God, that song made me want to vomit.”
• Heather (Caller): “He’s manipulating her with his lyrics, and it’s horrible.”
• Chris (Host): “The only power he has to communicate with her right now is through song.”

4. Clip from Chris Brown's New York Interview

• [03:48–07:27] Play and analysis of Brown’s radio interview, during which he navigates his role in the domestic violence incident.
• Chris Brown [03:48]: “At the end of the day, it’s not right to judge somebody when people make mistakes all the time. And I’ve learned from my mistakes, and I’m learning from them as we go, and I regret every moment of every second of it.”
• Chris Brown [05:26]: “That’s not who I am at all. I wouldn’t say they blew it out of proportion, but people didn’t act like we were human. And I’m not justifying the situation...”
• Brown emphasizes his regret but is criticized for being vague and defensive, particularly when he avoids providing details or fully embracing blame.

5. Hosts’ Critical Response to the Interview

• [07:27–08:01]
• Bert [07:28]: “Somebody’s gotta keep him away from a microphone.”
• Chris (Host): “It still doesn’t feel like he’s totally embracing an apology.”
• The hosts critique Brown’s avoidance and lack of explicit ownership, comparing how they would respond differently in his shoes.

6. The Question of Judgment, Forgiveness, and Second Chances

• [08:49–10:29]
• A caller defends Brown, sharing her own former abusive behavior and subsequent change, arguing for the possibility of growth and forgiveness.
• Ellen (Caller) [08:52]: “Everybody makes mistakes...Yes, he’s young. People make mistakes...He can’t live through this his whole life as just that man. Oh, he hit Rihanna. That’s not fair.”
• The panel discusses the pressures of “trial by fire” and whether Brown has yet to truly learn and transform, with some expressing doubt.

7. The Fans’ Perspective & Public Division

• [10:34–12:20]
• Listeners express diverse views—some don’t want to know the personal details, others say stars are human and shouldn’t be permanently vilified, while some feel strongly that Brown’s statements are evasive and insincere.
• Bert [12:11]: “If you’re a Chris Brown fan, you can’t stand us when we talk about this. But...he was wordy. He didn’t sound sincere. He’s dodging around the issue...That gives us something to judge him on.”

8. The Need for Advocacy and Sincere Redemption

• [14:22–14:35]
• Heather (Caller): “This is a great time for him to gain public confidence back by being an advocate for women’s violence...and he’s not taking the right opportunity.”
• The hosts agree that, for Brown to truly make amends, he should engage more sincerely with advocacy or take more time for personal growth.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Bert [07:28]: “Somebody’s gotta keep him away from a microphone.”
• Wendy [02:04]: “He’s not supposed to talk to her or email her or contact her for five years...so this is really the only way he can get his message to her.”
• Caller Ellen [08:52]: “Everybody makes mistakes...He can’t live through this his whole life as just that man. Oh, he hit Rihanna. That’s not fair.”
• Caller Heather [14:22]: “This is a great time for him to gain public confidence back by being an advocate for women’s violence...and he’s not taking the right opportunity.”

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:46 – Show dives into Chris Brown’s media moves and new single
• 02:33 – Listener reactions and early opinions on the song and timing
• 03:48 – Key audio clips from Chris Brown’s New York radio interview
• 07:27 – Host and listener critique of Brown’s apology and attitude
• 08:49 – Callers defend/remonstrate Brown, sharing personal stories
• 10:34 – The fans’ take on privacy, public apologies, and judgment
• 14:22 – Closing arguments: advocacy, redemption, and public trust

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Tone & Atmosphere

In true Bert Show fashion, the tone is honest, critical, and sometimes humorous, with open lines and strong, personal listener engagement. The hosts balance empathy with skepticism, never shying away from tough questions about celebrity, responsibility, and the complexities of personal growth and public redemption.

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Episode Summary

This episode provides a candid, multifaceted conversation about Chris Brown’s public apology efforts, the aftermath of domestic violence in the public eye, and the challenges of redemption and responsibility for high-profile personalities. It spotlights the perils of PR missteps, the power of timing and narrative, and showcases the spectrum of public sentiment—from calls for forgiveness to demands for deeper sincerity and change.

Transcript

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[Radio Host Chris]

all right, so Chris Brown is back, and we've been talking about him for a couple of days. It felt like to us that his release of a song a couple of days ago felt mistimed to us. Or was it a video,

[Radio Host Wendy]

some pictures and stuff yesterday, and then the song was released today. So, you know, Rihanna came out with her single and she had a countdown clock on her website. Everybody was very excited about it. It's called Russian Roulette. We played it for you yesterday. It's a really heavy song. Talking about her struggles with the relationship with Chris Brown. I mean, and it's, it's a really painful song. I got chill bumps. Wendy cried over it. Whatever. So it was kind of Rihanna's moment and it was also the moment she announced when her album was coming out, which is gonna be on November 23rd. So. So really big deal for her. Well, at this, on the same exact day that she did that Chris Brown put out, like still photos from his video shoot, talked about this new song coming out, and then has put out this new single called Crawl actually following Rihanna's release. His is out today.

[Radio Host Chris]

So we've been pretty critical about Chris Brown. And Jen's gonna play you some clips from an interview he did in New York in a couple of minutes. But here's a sample of the song that came out, and I think it was. I think you handled it really well this morning when you read the words to the song.

[Radio Host Wendy]

Yeah, I think you still had the lyrics over there.

[Radio Host Chris]

That's awesome.

[Caller Ellen]

Oh, boy.

[Radio Host Wendy]

You might have thrown him out. But Bert, we always tease Bert because he doesn't listen to lyrics of songs, and so we made him read them out loud.

[Radio Host Bert]

Yeah, Google him real quick.

[Radio Host Wendy]

He could get in. He could understand it. It's called Chris Brown Crawl. Yeah, he's got still that restraining Order. He's not supposed to talk to her or email her or contact her for five years. Plus that restraining order that keeps him 100 yards away. And if they're at the same entertainment event, it's 10 yards away. So this is really the only way he can get his message to her. But. But it sounded very different yesterday to me with her message.

[Radio Host Bert]

Right.

[Radio Host Wendy]

I mean, it didn't sound like she was on that same page whatsoever of Rihanna's Russian Roulette. We're going to play for you some of this interview that he did Yesterday.

[Radio Host Chris]

Good morning. Q100.

[Caller Elon]

Yeah, that. Oh, my God, that song made me want to vomit.

[Radio Host Chris]

Which one?

[Caller Ellen]

The Chris Browns.

[Radio Host Chris]

Why?

[Caller Elon]

Because he's. I hate men that abuse women like that. And then he's gonna crawl back to love.

[Caller Ellen]

Yeah, okay.

[Caller Heather]

He's manipulating her with his lyrics, and it's horrible.

[Radio Host Chris]

I mean, really, the only way he has. The only power he has to communicate with her right now is through song.

[Caller Elon]

Well, still, it probably makes her want to vomit, too.

[Radio Host Chris]

I'm right there with you.

[Radio Host Bert]

Hopefully I'm right there.

[Caller Heather]

I don't think so.

[Radio Host Wendy]

I think it would put his claws right back in her.

[Radio Host Bert]

Yeah. I wouldn't be surprised if they kind

[Caller Heather]

of want to hear, like, when you break up with somebody, or even if it's abusive, if not emotional, physical. I mean, if you're with somebody for so long, those are the words you want to hear. Like, oh, God, he still loves me. Maybe I'll give him one more chance. But total manipulation.

[Radio Host Chris]

So up until this point, all we have seen, really, is a video of Chris Brown speaking in front of the camera saying, I'm sorry. And then we saw him on Larry King acting a little contrite also. And he went on a radio station, Hot 97 up in New York, I think it was yesterday, and started to speak a little bit more candidly about he and Rihanna and everything.

[Chris Brown (Interviewee)]

Of course you have your opinions and your thoughts, and that's perfectly fine. So if you feel that way and if people feel a certain way, it's not a. I'm not going to say that they're wrong for feeling however they feel because their opinion. But at the end of the day, it's not right to judge somebody. Of course you're going to have your. Of course you're going to have your opinions and your thoughts, and that's perfectly fine. So if you feel that way, and if people feel certain ways, I'm not going to say that they're wrong for feeling however they feel because their opinion might but at the end of the day, it's not right to judge somebody when people make mistakes all the time. And I've learned from my mistakes, and I'm learning from them as we go, and I regret every moment of every second of it. So I can't expect people to have me be perfect. Although sometimes as an artist and as entertainers, we are looked at as perfectionist. And we, especially you.

[Interviewer]

You were, like, clean cut, clean.

[Chris Brown (Interviewee)]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

Wrigley commercial role model for the kids. And then, you know. So that everybody was just, like, in shock.

[Chris Brown (Interviewee)]

Yeah. I mean, and that was one of the most. Most embarrassing things for me, too. It's just because of my image and who I was as a young role model to a lot of kids and how people looked up to me, even parents and stuff like that. It was kind of hard for me because I let a lot of people down, and I felt that it was like, turn back on a lot of my fans and turning my back on a lot of people, even the people I love. You know what I'm saying? Like. Like letting a lot of people down in the. In the midst of everything.

[Interviewer]

I mean, do you fully realize the situation, how people and how bad that.

[Chris Brown (Interviewee)]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

People feel about what?

[Chris Brown (Interviewee)]

I totally realized. And I know because, like, me being a kid who grew up with domestic violence and certain things in my household when I was growing up, I mean, that's something that I never want to put anybody to or let anybody have that. That reminiscent feeling of. That's not who I am at all. So I feel like with a lot of stuff, it's having the feelings like a lot of people. I wouldn't say they blew it out of proportion, but people didn't act like we were human. And I'm not saying. I'm not justifying the situation by any means, just that a lot of people looked at it like, okay, it was this, it was that. And, like, they don't have any. They don't make mistakes.

[Interviewer]

The worst part of it was the picture. To see her face like that.

[Chris Brown (Interviewee)]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

Definitely know it was disturbing.

[Chris Brown (Interviewee)]

Like, you know, of course it was. It was awful.

[Interviewer]

So that's what we know of what happened. Is that. Is that the whole story? Is that what happened?

[Chris Brown (Interviewee)]

Like I said, I know. I know y' all seen me on Larry King and everything with the bow tie, and everybody wanted to know, and everybody's still trying to know what it was. And, like, out of respect for me, my privacy and, like, her. Definitely. I don't. I don't, like, really talk about it. And I don't want to go into it, but I just feel like a lot of. Whether it's with reports or whether it's what media has said and stuff has been, like. I wouldn't say altered, but definitely a lot of extra stuff has been added and falsified into a lot of stuff. But I'm not justifying what went down because I.

[Interviewer]

Do you still realize what you did?

[Chris Brown (Interviewee)]

Yeah, I still realize, and it's not okay in any way, shape or form.

[Interviewer]

It was said that there was. You had some injuries from the evening, but there was no pictures or anything like that on the Internet. Were you injured in this? In the.

[Chris Brown (Interviewee)]

Honestly, I. I just would like to get past it.

[Interviewer]

Okay.

[Chris Brown (Interviewee)]

Honestly, like, it's not even. It's not even a fact. I think at the end of the day, I was. I'm sorry for what I did. Whatever it is and whatever it is. Only me. And only me and Shorty know what went down in the car. So I like to leave it between us. So I ain't saying nothing on her behalf or nothing on my behalf. It's just. I leave it at that.

[Radio Host Chris]

He's.

[Radio Host Bert]

Somebody's gotta keep him away from a microphone.

[Radio Host Chris]

It still doesn't feel like he's totally embracing an apology, you know, like, only she and I know what happened in the car.

[Caller Kimberly]

People blow it out of proportion. And just the, you know. And just the.

[Radio Host Wendy]

Too many words. Yeah.

[Caller Kimberly]

I mean, just the whole idea of, you know, that's not who I am. Well, Chris. Yeah. Guess what? It is who you are. It should be like, oh, my God,

[Radio Host Bert]

that is who I am.

[Caller Kimberly]

I never wanted to be this guy, and here I am. So I've got, you know, it just. I don't know. It just doesn't seem like he's doing.

[Radio Host Wendy]

He.

[Caller Kimberly]

I don't know that he's really that upset by.

[Radio Host Chris]

Yeah, it doesn't feel like a genuine. Like, if that were. If that were me, I would be so embarrassed to go out in the public again and so nervous that that person is inside of me, that I'm capable of doing something like that, that I think my apology to the world would sound a lot different than that.

[Caller Elon]

Yeah.

[Radio Host Wendy]

You come from a different background, though, and you come from a different family and you come from a different city set of, I don't know, limitations and a certain set of rules and how you interact with women. And he doesn't come from that same place. I don't. Yeah, I don't think that. I don't know.

[Radio Host Chris]

You think we're Being too hard on him.

[Radio Host Wendy]

No, I don't think we're being too hard on him at all. No, I think it's horrible. But I think I'm trying to explain why he isn't reacting the way you were saying you would react.

[Radio Host Chris]

Yeah, we do. We come from different backgrounds, different places. Hey, Belinda. Good morning.

[Caller Ellen]

Hey. How y' all doing?

[Radio Host Chris]

How are you?

[Caller Ellen]

I think y' all have been way too hard on Chris Brown. People make mistakes. I met my husband when I was 15, and he was 16, and I was for riding, and I used to hit him and abuse him all the time. And my mama saw this, and, I mean, now I'm 32 and he's 33, and I wouldn't dare hit him because I have three sons, and I don't want them to grow up like that. Everybody makes mistakes. Everybody. Everybody's been too hard on him. He's. Yes, he's young. People make mistakes. People need to just, you know, he apologized for it. He can't live through this his whole life as just that man. Oh, he hit Rihanna. That's not fair. He makes mistakes. Everybody makes mistakes. I did it. I was abusive to my husband. He never hit me, but I hit him.

[Radio Host Chris]

But I didn't think it's the pure brutality of it.

[Caller Kimberly]

Also, did you get a lot of. I mean, but when you. That transition from you abusing your husband to not abusing your husband, did you get. Get a lot of criticism for that?

[Caller Ellen]

I did. My mom told me that, you know, if. If it was the other way around, how would you want me to react with him? You know, that's not right for you to hit him. You need to, you know, know that hitting don't solve anything. And now that you've done that, apologize and go through it with Ben, you know, you would never hit him again and show that you won't do that, and I would never. And like I said, we've been together almost 20 years now.

[Interviewer]

Right.

[Caller Kimberly]

Well, I get. My point is that I think maybe he needs to go through trial by fire to get to the point where you are, because I'm not convinced that he is someone who wouldn't do that.

[Radio Host Chris]

Again, only have a time for, like, two more calls. Good morning, Ellen, you're on Q100.

[Caller Elon]

Hi, it's Elon. Elon, I'm listening from D.C. so I'm kind of, you know, behind, but I mean, I love you got your show. I just moved to D.C. i miss Atlanta a lot.

[Caller Ellen]

But

[Caller Elon]

you guys come down on Chris Brown really hard, and every interview that he's done. And I know it sounds very scripted, very. I don't want to know what happened between him and Rihanna in the car. Personally. I wouldn't want him to come out and say, yeah, this went down, this went down. She hit me first, so I retaliated. I wouldn't want to know that. So for him to say what happened in the cars between me and her, that's okay for me because I don't know him personally, and it's just none of my business. I wouldn't want to know because as a fan of Chris Brown, I really wouldn't know. I mean, I'm a fan of both of them. It's just. I wouldn't want to know any of that information. I don't feel like people think that stars are not human, and when they make mistakes, they. They just. You know, they just hold it against them forever.

[Caller Lisa]

And I.

[Radio Host Bert]

Excuse me. Can you at least acknowledge in the audio clip that we just played and you just heard from that New York City radio station that he was wordy and dancing around the issue?

[Caller Elon]

I mean, yes, definitely.

[Radio Host Bert]

Okay.

[Caller Elon]

So I wouldn't want to know any of that.

[Radio Host Bert]

Okay, that's great.

[Caller Elon]

That's his business, not mine.

[Radio Host Bert]

Okay. But that's what I think we all in here brought up. Like, we're. If. I think if you're a Chris Brown fan, you can't stand us when we talk about this. But the fact is, during that interview,

[Radio Host Wendy]

exact opposite, earlier this morning.

[Radio Host Chris]

Yeah. Someone called us and said that Jen and I were being too.

[Radio Host Wendy]

Right. They said we're too much on his side. So even just talking about him is, you know, polarizing. Either way.

[Radio Host Bert]

Like, my thing is forgive him. I'm not a fan of his. I'm not. Not a fan either. If his song comes on, I listen to it. I do think it's between him and Rihanna, so be it. You know, if he's okay with himself and he moves on, I'm not. I'm not sitting in judgment of him, but I do think that somebody needs to get to him and say, you shouldn't be doing interviews, because when he does, if he didn't say anything, we wouldn't have spent the past 10 minutes talking about Chris Brown and his CD would have come out and his song would be on the radio, and that would be that he came out, he was wordy. He didn't sound sincere. He's dodging around the issue. That gives us something to judge him on.

[Radio Host Chris]

And let me make two points. The first one for me is I don't need to know what happened in the car. That's not my problem with what was said in that radio interview. It's just that he's not fully embracing an apology. And the second thing, I don't care what happened in that car because it doesn't deserve she. No matter what she did, I don't care if she kicked him in the side of the head with a stiletto. Still doesn't matter. She didn't deserve that. So it does. It's inconsequential.

[Radio Host Bert]

To me, that move from Rihanna is actually kind of hot.

[Radio Host Chris]

Kicking the head with a stiletto to the head. Hey, Kimberly. Good morning. You're on Q100.

[Caller Elon]

Hey, guys.

[Caller Lisa]

How are you?

[Interviewer]

Okay.

[Radio Host Chris]

How are you?

[Caller Ellen]

Hey.

[Caller Lisa]

Okay, so I feel like I agree with you guys. I don't even think it's the issue of him being a star and not being human. If he had taken more time off before he tried to just jump back into the music thing to, like, analyze himself, I believe that he would have been able to sound more sincere when the time came to apologize. But he's doing this for his career. It's calculated. Everything that he's saying is calculated. He's doing whether he's doing it for his and for Rihanna. I feel like the timing is all wrong. He should have taken more time off. And that's my whole problem.

[Caller Elon]

I agree that we don't need to

[Caller Lisa]

know what happened in the car, because I feel like the world learns its lesson when the whole issue happened in the first place. The specifics of it are irrelevant. It happened. It shouldn't have happened. The whole thing is wrong. He should take more time off. That's the whole problem with what I have with him.

[Caller Heather]

And I think this is a great time for him to gain public confidence back by being an advocate for women's violence. I mean, he's been through it. He's seen it. I mean, this is a time for him to shine and gain the public respect again, and he's not taking the right opportunity.

[Radio Host Chris]

It does feel like this is one of those issues that if you're a Chris Brown fan, you can't be sweet. And if you're not a Chris Brown fan, then you can't be sweet.

[Radio Host Wendy]

See, that's the hard part is I am a Chris Brown fan of his music. I was a huge fan of his music, and I still like his songs. But I think from a part on a personal standpoint, I think Wendy's right. I think he needs to get some more help with domestic violence. And I think he needs to to, you know, be able to turn this around sincerely. But there is nothing in that interview to me that sounded all that sincere.

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