The Chris Brown Redemption Arc Now Involves Faraday Future, Apparently

Brown has been on a half-hearted public apology tour dating back to 2009, when he pleaded guilty to a felony assault charge on star singer Robyn “Rihanna” Fenty. Since assaulting one of the most beloved artists of the last two decades, Brown tried to rehabilitate his image by buying a survivor of domestic violence a new Honda HR-V in 2015, but he’s also been involved in altercations with rapper Drake’s entourage, allegedly punched R&B star Frank Ocean over a studio parking space, and was arrested for felony assault in October 2013 for punching a fan.

While it’s been almost a decade since Brown’s last violent incident, the singer’s public perception remains polarized and negative. As recently as February, Brown complained on Instagram that people “still hate” him for assaulting Rihanna. It’s perfect timing, then, for Faraday Future to grant him a needless role for a public relations stunt.

Faraday Future has struggled to deliver a product since its founding in 2014. Nearly a decade of funding difficulties, a few rounds of restructuring, and a whole bunch of vaporware have finally led to a seemingly complete FF 91 2.0. The title of Developer Co-Creation Officer was also bestowed on Le Mans winner Justin Bell in August, though it’s unclear if Brown is replacing Bell. Maybe they’ll both get to keep it; there’s surely nobody else Bell could possibly want to share such a distinction with. The title appears to be an influencer marketing scheme to help move FF 91s, and Faraday Future’s description of the role is largely a puddle of buzzword vomit:

“Mr. Brown hosted FF Founder and Chief Product and User Ecosystem Officer YT Jia at his Los Angeles home where they discussed FF 91 2.0’s features and highlights and officially began the Co-Creation process,” the release reads. “Mr. Brown is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, dancer, actor and businessman and one of the most iconic R&B singers of all time. His unique style has earned him prestigious recognitions, including a Grammy, as well as MTV Video Music, AMA, and BET Music Awards.” What the “Co-Creation” process is, we may never want to know.

We’re now in a reality where Chris Brown’s face is the first thing you see on Faraday Future’s website instead of its brand-new car that it’s trying to sell and deliver to paying customers. If that doesn’t describe the state of Faraday Future, I’m not sure what else could.