So why didn't Steve Austin ever...

[Deleted]

...get real flak for what he did to Debra?

This is kind of a spinoff of the Austin/gay marriage topic because I was pondering the irony of a wife beater being praised for his progressive views on marriage.

It can't be popularity. We take shots at Hogan when he pulls dumb/weird/self-destructive and he's as important to wrestling as Austin in the grand scheme of things.

[The Tank]

Don't quote me on this, but I'm pretty sure it's because he admitted he did a horrible thing and was genuinely remorseful.

[Amazing Kitsune]

He's admitted his wrong-doing and has moved on into what seems to be a pretty healthy, stable relationship. That was a very bad time in his life and he made a lot of wrong choices. He admits that and he regrets that.

You can't hold a guy's failings against him forever. He got a lot of criticism about it at the time, but that's in the past.

[Confused Mark Wahlberg]

There's no rhyme or reason to it.

Why is Chris Brown a pariah and Sean Penn a respected actor?

[Deleted]

Where did he express remorse about it? Quick googling doesn't bring up anything, and his book has nothing on the topic due to a gag order (he said as much in the book).

[Can you afford to pay me, Gah]

Apr 24, 2014 10:08:41 GMT -5 Confused Mark Wahlberg said:

There's no rhyme or reason to it.

Why is Chris Brown a pariah and Sean Penn a respected actor?

The thing with Brown was how he handled it once he did it. The guy still ran around like he above the law and was acting like a total douche where ever he did. Some call it being young and not mature but at 18 you would know when you did something wrong.

Penn I don't know what too say outside it happened in the 80's, which I believe it was bad at the time but over time a lot of us may not been around or was to young to remember it. So over time it died down. Brown was only a couple years ago and fairly fresh in the minds of current media.

Austin did get a lot of flake at the time it happened but it became less of an issue once he said he was sorry and admit how wrong it was than one never relapse and again over time it became less and less of a problem when he became a good normal man without causing trouble. It's that whole saying that time heals all. I think in a few years if Chris Brown paints himself as a changed man who is clean and respectful. In time he will seem to not get the flake like he did. It seems in time it becomes less and less.

[drgonzo]

I'm assuming Debra pulled a knife on him.


Why? Because I really don't give a shit about what he did.

[blake6905]

How do fans know that someone is genuinely remorseful? These guys are actors ....

Anybody who hits women is a piece of shit... Whether it's Chris Brown, Steve Austin, or my dad. I don't care if they're sorry

["Gizzark" Mike Wronglevenay]

I may as well straight up admit what I doubt many other people on here will, and that is that I am a straight up hypocrite on this issue.

Do I hate Austin? No. I enjoy his work, he seems like a nice guy, and I try to pretend the Debra thing didn't happen. Given it was the only occurrence of this in his life, I generally try to tell myself that everyone does shit they regret and that after 11 years he would likely have served his time regardless.

Do I hate Chris Brown? Yes. I am no fan of the guy's work, his crime was MUCH more recent and sticks in the mind, and he has continued to generally act like a massive prick ever since. He has also given a series of hilariously insincere apologies, and pled no contest rather than guilty. I can't remember Austin's plea. I think it was guilty, but then, I might be just remembering that the way I want it to be.

Ultimately, I've always been an advocate of attempting to separate the artist from the crime within reason, but that's a whole shitload easier when I didn't like the work in the first place.

I am a hypocrite, and I know this.

[Raskovnik]

www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXr8gbNPkzI

Someone made a whole song about it.

[Bub (BLM)]

Apr 24, 2014 13:06:14 GMT -5 "Gizzark" Mike Wronglevenay said:

I may as well straight up admit what I doubt many other people on here will, and that is that I am a straight up hypocrite on this issue.

Do I hate Austin? No. I enjoy his work, he seems like a nice guy, and I try to pretend the Debra thing didn't happen. Given it was the only occurrence of this in his life, I generally try to tell myself that everyone does shit they regret and that after 11 years he would likely have served his time regardless.

Do I hate Chris Brown? Yes. I am no fan of the guy's work, his crime was MUCH more recent and sticks in the mind, and he has continued to generally act like a massive prick ever since. He has also given a series of hilariously insincere apologies, and pled no contest rather than guilty. I can't remember Austin's plea. I think it was guilty, but then, I might be just remembering that the way I want it to be.

Ultimately, I've always been an advocate of attempting to separate the artist from the crime within reason, but that's a whole shitload easier when I didn't like the work in the first place.

I am a hypocrite, and I know this.

I think this plays a huge role in it. It's the same reason many of the people who defended Michael Jackson now want Bryan Singer's head on a stick.

[Amazing Kitsune]

I also just think simply that if we always held the worst thing a person did against them, then we probably wouldn't like anybody. You should face the music when you've done something wrong and you should be criticized for it.

At the same time, everybody needs to move on. Judging a person by the worst thing they ever did is unfair once there has been consequences for their actions.

I've done bad things. You've done bad things. Maybe not hitting Debra bad, but nobody's perfect. Once your actions have received their proper consequences, people should move on about it.

Unless you double-down and continue doing the same thing. Then you have to repeat the whole process until something changes.

[Deleted]

I remember a LOT of fans being on his case for it over the years, none of us have ever forgotten, but as with Sean Penn -mentioned earlier- due to it being a single incident out of character most people have forgotten it. Do I agree with that? I'm not sure, but given it doesn't seem to be a consistent problem then I can look on it more as a single awful act than a character defining moment? It's still awful (and to some people unforgivable which I entirely understand), but he seems to be entirely reformed and better for it.

Serving a personal sentence may not be the same as serving a prison sentence, but can people grow to be better all the time, or is there a line in the sand? It's a genuinely interesting thought to have, I mean, I can watch Chris Benoit matches when they're on (I don't seek them out) but I can't watch Mike Tyson (confirmed rapist) or enjoy him being anywhere near boxing/wrestling for the charges against him. I can watch Austin (physically assaulted his wife) but I can not stand to watch much of the Dynamite Kid these days (gun in partner's face, consistent abuse to everyone who knew him).

As gizzark said as well, if I didn't separate performers from their characters I wouldn't be able to watch older wrestling due to how many grotesque people populated the rings, so I find it necessary to see them as fictional beings when I enjoy the product. Same as with actors and musicians...but sometimes things ring too close to home for me to ignore as well.

This is an aimless post really, I swear I had more concise points to make but...it's confusing and I don't want to turn this into an essay of repeated points.

[Bravo Echo November]

Because Austin admitted it was wrong and since then has done things to repair his image.

Unlike Chris Brown who never really apologized, wears the action as a badge of honor (and possibly a literal tattoo), and continues to act like a brat and scumbag.

[RAW IS GWAR]

equal rights, equal fights.

[keezy]

I think because Austin has never really been in any trouble since and even before that it's sort of forgotten and swept aside.

It seems there's a lot of forgive and forget in wrestling, like when a former female referee accused Vince McMahon of sexual harassment and I believe Pat Patterson was also accused of harassing ring crew boys.

I think fame has something to do with it too, if Virgil beat a woman it would be the only thing people would know him for, kind of like Jackson Andrews beating Rosa Mendez and that FCW guy who killed a woman.

[Tiger Millionaire]

Austin is teflon. He beats his wife, he politics, and still has probably the highest approval rating of the huge stars of that era. He certainly gets less flak than Hogan, who is the other megastar in this business. Austin roughed up Debra, he supposidly roughed up Tess Broussard, yet it's hardly ever mentioned.

[BigJerichool222]

Because it's become nothing more than a punchline these days.

[Hawk Hart]

Apr 24, 2014 10:51:53 GMT -5 blake6905 said:

How do fans know that someone is genuinely remorseful? These guys are actors ....

Anybody who hits women is a piece of shit... Whether it's Chris Brown, Steve Austin, or my dad. I don't care if they're sorry

How do you know when ANYONE is genuine ever? No, I'm being serious. I'm a sociopath and people consider me to be one of the most genuine, authentic, and honest people they know when, in reality, unless you're in my inner circle, I'll lie to you dead to your face just to see if I can do it. 99% of the time, people think I'm being genuine. So I ask you, how does one know for certain, at any point, when dealing with anyone that they're sincere?

[Clash, Never a Meter Maid]

Oh, trust me, he did. Big time flak, I remember.