Remember when Chris Brown cried during his Michael Jackson tribute at the BET Awards on Sunday and made the moment entirely about HIM?

Well according to Us Weekly it was all planned from the get. The magazine cites sources who say that right before performing Man in the Mirror, Brown’s bodyguard handed him some eyedrops. Minutes later he was overcome with emotion and incapable of singing.

Chris’s rep denies the allegation, insisting that he was truly swept away by the honour and deeply affected by the occasion. Can you imagine how demoralising it must be to be Chris Brown’s publicist? To have to work with a piece of sh-t all day and call it gold?

This story reminded me of Sam Taylor-Wood’s Crying Men. You know, Sam Taylor-Wood. She’s the artist behind a Sleeping Beckham, and of course most famous right now for getting pregnant with Aaron Johnson, 23 years her junior. Before becoming my obsession though, Sam shot a series of portraits of famous men and their tears, an exhibit that, at the very least, acknowledges the line between contrivance and authenticity and, perhaps, challenges you to find it. Chris Brown is just a f-cking liar.

My favourite is Daniel Craig. I BELIEVE Daniel Craig. I do not believe Benicio Del Toro. I love Jude’s, and I always think Ryan Gosling is Brad Pitt. As for Robert Downey Jr – can you make out the tear falling down his cheek, or are you too busy studying his anatomy?

To see more Crying Men click here.


Photo of Chris Brown from Frederick M. Brown/Gettyimages.com