This week sees the start of the Rihanna / Chris Brown trial.  Sure to be a media circus, and if the coverage of the incident so far is anything to go by, the court battle is set to become headline news.  The focus on Rihanna and Chris Brown has no doubt been fuelled by their popularity within media circles prior to their well-publicized fight.  But, is it really helping matters?

It seems that the media have, in many ways, made this experience worse for the R&B singers with back-and-forth claims and allegations being made by 'friends' and 'insiders' while the leaking of certain pictures to the press may have also served to undermine the trial itself.  There can't be many people who they can call to the jury who have not already had a media-fuelled opinion on what went down that night.

The truth of the matter, however, is that the only people who can know for sure what happened were Chris Brown and Rihanna themselves.  While popular opinion was that Chris Brown was 100% in the wrong for what he did in striking Rihanna how would we feel if some of the parameters of the case were changed?  Would people be so up in arms if it was Chris Brown who had his bruised face shown on the Internet - and indeed would there be such a great deal of interest had it not been Rihanna herself in the car?  Remember that just around the same time Suge Knight was arrested for beating his girlfriend in somewhat similar circumstances - and yet there was nothing of the same fuss made over her apparent plight.

Of course, we are told it is wrong to hit women - and this is something which I wholeheartedly agree with.  But then again it is also wrong for women to take advantage of this position and hit men.  As children we are generally dissuaded from being violent to each other - whether boys or girls.  Indeed at a young age girls are normally slightly larger physically than boys.  So what is right in this?

This week has seen Brandy gain some level of legal closure over compensation for a 2006 car accident that left a woman dead (see Grind Mode Connect 'News' section).   However, she has still to finally settle with the woman's husband who refused $1.2 million in compensation for the accident.  This instance may point to the man not having really dealt with the tragic loss of his wife.  Then again it may point to a feeling that he can gain more financially. 

While we can speculate, we cannot know the true reasons behind the husband's refusal of compensation.  However there does seem to be a spate of celebrity suing - often for far more trivial matters.  Whether it is Justin Timberlake's restaurant, Kanye West losing his temper at LAX or Michael Jackson's concerts - a lawsuit never seems too far behind - regardless of whether the celebrity are themselves at fault or not.

While real grievances should be taken through the courts and awarded relevant compensation, could it be that we are going slightly overboard with the whole thing? 

I can just imagine it now; there I am walking down the street, looking down to check my phone, when I notice a shadow fall across me.  Before I have a chance to fully look up or react I have encountered Puffy (or 'Diddy' - call him what you will), who accidentally steps upon my new trainers (that's "sneakers" in America).  Stopping to assess the damage I notice that he has creased the leather on one toe and scuffed the outer layer slightly.  What's worse is that he seems to have also crushed my foot very slightly.  Hobbling to a low wall I sit down and gingerly remove my shoe and sock.  Yes!  There it is!  A slight graze on my foot.  I quickly take a picture before shouting, "I'll see you in court" at the rapidly retreating mogul, my $80 shoe quickly turning to potential millions before my eyes.

OK - I'm joking and of course such a case would never stand up (would it?).  Plus I would actually be too ashamed to carry it out.  But there are certainly those out there who see celebrities as paydays; whether it is the victims themselves or, perhaps more frequently, at the behest of 'concerned' friends and relatives.  It is a shame that sometimes regular mistakes are followed up by victorious legal action.  We put our celebrities on a pedestal and then act hurt when they fall from grace, forgetting that for all their talents they are people like us.  Their egos may be a little expanded at times (that's the fame) but ultimately they share the same basic hopes and dreams as everyone else.  In our 100-mile-an-hour culture of instant celebrity and instant money (without the effort?) it is all too easy to see the dollar signs, but integrity can't be bought.  Like respect, it needs to be earned. 

I hope that Awatef Aboudihaj's husband, Marouane Hdidou, can find peace over the loss of his wife due to Brandy's car crash - but I also hope that such a real tragedy can help put the frivolous claims of others into perspective...