Activist Group Apologise For 'Racist Aspects' Of Chris Brown Visa Ban Campaign

Activist group Get Up! have apologised for "racist aspects" of their campaign to ban Chris Brown from entering Australia this December for his One Hell Of A Nite Tour.

As Fairfax reports, the group have retracted their campaign even though it already proved to be a success following the news earlier this week that Immigration Minister Peter Dutton had issued a Notice Of Intention To Consider Refusal of Brown's visa.

National director of Get Up! Paul Oosting issued a statement regarding the group's campaign against Brown, which is based on banning the singer from the country due to his violent past, specifically the 2009 assault of his then-girlfriend Rihanna. 

"We chose to get involved in this campaign because Chris Brown is a massive celebrity and we wanted to put a spotlight on the issue of domestic violence," Oosting said.

"Over the course of the weekend a lot of people started reaching out to us and raising the issue of the racist aspects of this campaign," Oosting said.

"We have a migration system that unfairly targets people of colour and this is a system that we inadvertently fed into. We caused angst and grief and we are unreservedly apologising for that."

Oosting maintained however, that the group were only apologising for the sensitivity surrounding the visa issues, not for the campaign itself.

"I find Chris Brown abhorrent and it's really damaging to society that men who commit domestic violence are granted celebrity status. There are wide range of white Australian men who have committed acts of domestic violence who enjoy celebrity status."

Meanwhile, Brown yesterday addressed the controversial situation on his Twitter account, saying that he would like to come to Australia "to help raise awareness about domestic violence."

Brown has 27 days to appeal the decision made by the Federal Government. 

As it stands, tickets for all his Australian shows are currently on sale and are reportedly selling fast — for more details, head to theGuide.