Chris Brown Pulls Out of Kids' Choice Awards
After felony abuse charges and protest petition, Brown removes name from race.
March 11, 2009— -- Chris Brown won't be a Kids' Choice winner this year.
Following his arrest in the alleged beating of girlfriend Rihanna, Brown today decided to take his name out of consideration.
"Chris very much appreciates the support of his fans and the honor they have paid him in the way of nominations for Favorite Male Singer and Favorite Song," his representatives said in a statement. "Unfortunately, the controversysurrounding the incident last month has shifted the focus from the music to whether he should be allowed to be among those nominated."
"While Chris would like to speak to his fans directly about this and other issues, pending legal proceedings preclude his doing so at this time. Once the matter before him has been resolved, he intends to do so," the statement concluded.
Brown's bow-out comes after growing outrage on parent blogs and entertainment Web sites and an online petition to have him removed from contention for the popular Kids' Choice Awards, which airs March 28 on Nickelodeon.
"Like all our KCA nominees, Chris Brown was nominated by kids several months ago based on his work as a performer, and the kids who vote will ultimately decide who wins in the category," Nickelodeon said in a statement sent to ABCNews.com Tuesday, before Brown's decision to pull out.
The show is geared toward children ages 6 to 14, who can vote up until the show's airdate. This year's vote is expected to top last year's of 89 million, the network's publicist Marianne Romano said.
Before pulling out today, Brown was apparently lobbying for votes. According to Us Weekly, the day Brown was charged with two felonies, he posted a MySpace blog asking fans to vote for him. "Vote for Chris on the Kids' Choice Awards 2009, Thank you for your support," it read.
Psychologist Cara Gardenswartz, an expert for Momlogic.com, questioned Nickelodeon's decision to keep Brown on the ballot.
"Nickelodeon is an adult-run network that is saying we are letting the kids decide. They are saying we don't need adults to step in and say that this is inappropriate," Gardenswartz said. "It's setting a horrible precedent and it's damaging. Kids can't differentiate between (Brown's) actions and his songs."
