Bobby Brown Makes A Dealby Michele Cheplic | More from this Blogger 01 Mar 2007 10:32 PM If you are a divorced parent who relies on child support to make ends meet, you may find yourself shaking your head after reading this next blog. The way I see it if there was a contest to select a poster child for deadbeat dads (guys who refuse to support their kids) then R&B singer Bobby Brown may just walk away the winner (for being the biggest loser). Brown has spent the last few days in a Massachusetts jail for failing to pay more than $19,000 in late child-support payments (for two children he has with a former girlfriend). According to news reports, last October, Brown was forced to pay $11,000 in delinquent child support after being threatened with arrest if he stepped back into Massachusetts. (He was in the state to watch his daughter compete in a cheering competition.) It would seem Brown either has a very short memory or thought police were kidding, because when he returned on Sunday to watch his daughter compete again, he was arrested and jailed for failing to appear in court and pay the child support fines. But, that's just half the story. Today, a Washington D.C. based radio station reportedly paid the $19,150 the singer owed in late child-support payments. As a result, Brown was sprung from jail and is now a free man. Well, sort of. According to local newspapers, Hot 99.5 FM, negotiated with Brown's attorney to come up with a deal Brown "couldn't refuse." In exchange for the money Brown agreed to be an employee of the radio station for one week. During that time radio station managers say Brown will "discuss what he did wrong and how he could turn his life around." According to the radio station, the singer will travel to Washington D.C. and be on the air with morning show DJs beginning Monday. He is also being mandated to make public appearances for the radio station. "Once Friday rolls around, he's done and released - and he's on his own," station managers told reporters. Brown's attorney told reporters that the singer has been struggling to meet monthly payments to Kim Ward, the mother of his two teenage children. "Although this agreement was put in place when he was Bobby Brown the star, this agreement is being enforced when he is not always able to find work," Brown's attorney said earlier this week. "He hasn't made an album in quite some years." Boo-hoo! I'm sure there are many divorced parents whose financial status is as bad if not worse than Brown's, yet they manage to consistently make child support payments. What's more, I can almost guarantee if they did fail to make the payments a radio station wouldn't be bailing them out of jail. I'm curious to see what reaction the radio station will receive from listeners. On one hand, it's a huge publicity stunt, but on the other, if it means Brown's children receive the money due to them... I suppose that's all that should matter. In the meantime, I hope Brown's estranged pop diva wife Whitney Houston is taking notes-she just filed for divorce from the singer (with whom she shares a daughter) after 14 years of marriage. Related Articles: Celebrities Lost - What Has Happened To Whitney Houston? Justin Timberlake Wants To Sing WITH You and Joey Fatone Wants To Dance FOR You Travel Deals: Single Parent Caribbean Vacation Learn more about Michele Cheplic  Michele Cheplic was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, but now lives in Wisconsin. Michele graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Journalism. Relevantpopular culture tags User Comments  Michele Cheplic |
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