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Chris Brown Opens Up About His Time in Jail

2014 MTV Video Music Awards Arrivals

Credit: Photo by Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic

For the first time since he spent 108 days in jail earlier this year, Chris Brown is opening up about his troubles. The singer did time for assaulting a man in Washington D.C. last year, which violated his probation from the 2009 assault case against Rihanna.

“I realize that what I do for a living opens my life to public scrutiny and that I have a responsibility to everyone because of that exposure,” he told Billboard. “I can say that I am only human and that I have made mistakes. I can say that I try to live my life in the most true, honest way that I can. I am not perfect, no one is. No one is harder on me than me. No one can please everyone. No one can live in the past and expect to grow. I am moving forward and hope that I am not defined by just a few moments in my life but all of the moments that will make up my life.”

Beyond this general statement, the 25-year-old went into detail about what life was like behind bars. “A guard wakes you up; you eat,” he explained. “You stay in your cell most of the time, basically 24 hours a day. Maybe on Mondays you go to the roof inside of a cage and have a phone call. It’s isolation. You have time to focus on what matters, on what to do and not to do.”

And with over 100 days in isolation…there’s a lot to think about. “My maturity level has risen as far as my realizing what’s important,” Chris admitted. “Realizing that I’m human like everyone else. At the end of the day, it’s just a humbling experience. You’re more appreciative of everything else that’s on the outside. A burger tastes 1,000 times better when you’re out. I’m just more appreciative of the things I’m blessed with and the things I do.”

It’s now been more than five years since the infamous Grammy Awards, when the “Loyal” singer assaulted his then-girlfriend, Rihanna. Both have said they’ve moved forward, yet the controversial topic still seems to follow them around. “As long as you’re doing something good, people will always bring up the old stuff or negative stuff because they don’t want you to surpass a certain level or elevate,” Chris told the mag. “But as long as you have your head on straight, it shouldn’t matter what people say.”

MORE LINKS

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