The alleged beating of Rihanna has inspired an online public service announcement about dating violence.
A new video by the teen organization DoSomething.org features actors recreating the pop star's grim, highly publicized confrontation with her boyfriend, singer Chris Brown.
A young man and woman re-enact details from a Los Angeles police affidavit alleging that on Feb. 8, Brown punched, bit and choked Rihanna until she nearly lost consciousness.
A narrator describes the scene in a deadpan voice.
"We didn't want to be overdramatic," said Nancy Lublin, chief executive officer of DoSomething.org. "Our goal was not to shoot a Lifetime TV movie. ... There was no need to sensationalize things. It was bad enough."
The brief clip can be viewed on YouTube. It closes with the statistic that one in three teenagers is abused in a relationship, and promotes free bracelets — one blue, two black — that spread awareness about dating abuse.
Lublin said the goal is to make people think and change their behavior. The organization used white actors on purpose to shift the conversation away from the celebrity singers.
"The public is very focused right now on Chris and Rihanna," she said. "I think people need to realize that this is an issue that goes beyond those particular people, and it affects everybody of every race. And so we wanted this to not be an exact re-enactment. We wanted instead to say: Could this be you?"
(China Daily/Agencies, March 20, 2009)
