After an uncomfortable appearance on Good Morning America, the singer pitches a fit and divides his fans once again. Perhaps he should take some pointers from Charlie Sheen.

On Tuesday, tweets poured in after Chris Brown trashed his dressing room at Good Morning America‘s studio. Robin Roberts interviewed Brown live and asked him several questions about his past incident with Rihanna and the recent changes to her restraining order.

Brown appeared agitated and attempted to redirect the conversation to his new album release, F.A.M.E., but Roberts persisted. Shortly after Brown performed “Yea 3xs,” he stormed into his dressing room yelling, and GMA had to call security. Before security could arrive, Brown smashed a cooler into a window, shattering glass onto 43rd and Broadway, ripped off his shirt, and ran onto the streets of Times Square. He was scheduled to perform again.

Brown tweeted, “I’m so over people bringing this past s**t up!!! Yet we praise Charlie sheen and other celebs for there bulls**t.”

ABC released a statement: “As always, we ask questions that are relevant and newsworthy, and that’s what we did in this interview with Mr. Brown.”

Brown’s incident has sparked debate over the portrayal of Black celebrities’ indiscretions in the media versus those of White celebrities.

On The View, Sherri Shepherd said, “Somebody backstage said, ‘Oh, he’s a thug, Chris Brown.’ I said, ‘Why didn’t you call Charlie Sheen a thug?'”

I wish, for once, that Black people would be able to see that not all issues are race issues. Sometimes we get so defensive when another Black person is criticized by White people, even if the criticism is warranted. In some cases, we might wind up defending violent, unreasonable, and thuggish behavior. What’s more, to say Charlie Sheen is getting off easy is a bit of an overstatement. Sheen got locked out of his own set, lost custody of his children, and has been ridiculed by every media outlet possible.

Nobody forced Brown to beat up his Black girlfriend, and no one forced him to vandalize the GMA greenroom. Brown has issues which have nothing to do with racism. In fact, “the White man” loved him before his offense, which was evident by his chart-topping career and album sales that clearly transcended race. Despite his obvious disrespect for GMA, ABC did not press charges and even invited him back for a second interview.

Perhaps this is a matter of word choice. Maybe Shepherd and those who agree with her just don’t like the word “thug.” Well, what else do you call a tattoo-covered man with a history of domestic violence who rips off his shirt, breaks your window, and runs away to avoid the consequences?

Brown has to show more finesse if he wants to stay in this business. Sheen is clearly a ticking time bomb, but he’s apparently learned to leave his emotions out of the mess while capitalizing on it the best way he can. By no means do I think he should be praised, but his mind is on the money. Brown’s is on his ego. After all, he said it himself in his comments about the Rihanna incident: “It’s not really a big deal to me now … as far as that situation. I mean I’m past that.” Well, good for you. But when you’re trying to express repentance for abusing a woman, you might want to show a little more sensitivity. And when you have an already dubious reputation and you’re trying to promote a new CD, it’s a good idea to exercise more self-control.

Image from Good Morning America/ABC TV.