Let’s play a little game of pretend, dear readers.

First, imagine you’re the boss of some company. Any company will do. Be creative. Be indulgent. Ever wanted to own Apple? Now you do.

Next, imagine you have a female employee who holds a pretty prominent and important position with your company. Maybe she manages your highest earning store, or perhaps she developed and runs some brand-spanking-new software that your company has exclusive rights to. Whatever she does, she’s kick ass and you’re lucky to have her.

Then, imagine her boyfriend, fiancé, or husband sent her to the hospital by beating her to a bloody pulp.

Finally, answer this question: How would you respond? Would you be supportive, offering her time off to recoup, or would you give her the boot?

I’m going to go out on a limb here – probably a pretty strong branch, actually – and assume none of you answered with the latter.

Given the picture to the right and the title of this post, you’ve undoubtedly figured out that this little game of pretend isn’t entirely fictional. It’s based on the domestic violence situation between music artists and former (I’m guessing former) lovebirds Chris Brown and Rihanna. What you might not know, though, is that some “bosses” (companies that have endorsement deals with Rihanna, rather) may actually end up choosing the latter answer. Some people are actually expecting the situation to negatively affect Rihanna’s career.

Let’s just pause to give that last bit the emphasis it deserves, shall we? Rihanna’s career.

Direct quote from the Los Angeles Times:

“Beyond the courtroom and the hospital, both have millions of dollars at stake in terms of possible damage to product endorsement.”

Um…what? I can understand why Doublemint has pulled the reigns on Brown’s catchy little commercial jingles, but why would anyone punish Rihanna? In case these people haven’t noticed, Rihanna is a victim. I don’t know the specifics of the situation – for all I know Rihanna could have been slapping Brown around before he assaulted her. But, I do know – we all know – the basics: The two were involved in a physical altercation that landed Rihanna in the emergency room and Brown under arrest. Brown has since issued a public apology that included a statement about seeking counseling – a public apology that has apparently left Rihanna unmoved.

So, given those rough “facts,” can someone please tell me why a spokesperson for CoverGirl “declined to discuss whether her status as an alleged victim of domestic violence would affect the future of the campaign.”

“’As a matter of policy, we do not discuss advertising plans,’ the spokeswoman said.”

Yeah, okay, Ms. Spokeswoman.

It gets worse.

Senior vice president at New-York-based marketing research company Millward Brown, Anne Green, said:

“’The reason why she has been used as a celebrity endorser is that she represents something very positive and in particular a strong female role model, and when she is associated with a situation like this it can have an impact […]'”

EXCUSE ME? It took me a while to even begin wrapping my brain around that statement. Because she happened to be romantically involved with a guy who turned out to have some serious violence issues, are we to assume Rihanna is no longer worthy of representing positive thinking and female strength? It seems to me that – once she pulls out of this – Rihanna will represent just that.

Hello?

I guess we’ll have to wait and find out how the situation affects Rihanna’s endorsements – if it does at all. In the meantime, I highly recommend checking out U.S. News & World Report article “What Rihanna Can Teach Us About Domestic Violence” in which Deborah Kotz discusses an abuser’s ability to change, victims and mental illness, and domestic violence resources with the executive director of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Rita Smith.

Image Credit: Bob Xu per these Creative Commons License Attributions.