Before teen R&B star Chris Brown faces the legal system for an alleged battery, it seems that he will have a trial by way of public opinion. The Internet exploded when news broke that Brown and girlfriend Rhianna were involved in an incident that led to both being noticeably absent from the Grammy Awards. Rumor pages have given daily updates from anonymous sources—each with a different account of what occurred.

The backlash for Brown—who has lost two sponsorships as a result—hit closer to home when the singer’s former stepfather offered his opinion on the matter. Donnelle Hawkins spoke with Access Hollywood about the 19-year-old’s pending legal troubles and told the outlet he wasn’t shocked when the news broke.

“I wouldn’t be surprised.” Hawkins said when asked if he believed the allegations were true.

“[Chris] has to take responsibility for his own actions,” he later added.

Brownand his former step father have never seen eye to eye. In fact, Brown spoke to GIANT Magazine in the past aboutHawkins abusing his mother. In the interview, Brown recalled a promise he made to his mother.

“I just want you to know that I love you,” he told her in GIANT. “But I’m gonna take a baseball bat one day while you at work, and I’m gonna kill him.”

Brown's stepfather attempted suicide during the time he was with Brown and his mother. He had shot himself in the head but the shot went straight through his eyes and left him permanently blinded.

“When you’re blind, your senses are heightened, like your smell, hearing, your sense of touch,” Brown explains to GIANT. “You can move and maneuver around your sight. But he used to hit my mom…. He made me terrified all the time, terrified like I had to pee on myself. I remember one night he made her nose bleed. I was crying and thinking, ‘I’m just gonna go crazy on him one day…’ I hate him to this day.”

While much of industry is treating Brown like a pariah, the “Run It” star found some kind words from rapper TI.

During an appearance on Carson Daly’s show, Tip revealed that he spoke with Brown recently and offered some words of advice.

“Yeah, I spoke to him today,” he told Daly. “He cool, you know. I guess he a little concerned about the situation, but he’s still the same Chris…I told him this too shall pass.”

TI also offered some words to those who place celebrities on a pedestal. "Hey man, you people gotta remember, we celebrities and we entertainers but we still human. All of us. Don’t expect us not to make mistakes ‘cause we will.”