Nickelodeon Awards Urged to Disqualify Chris Brown Over Rihanna Assault

The TV network Nickelodeon is under mounting pressure to drop the R&B star Chris Brown from its music awards aimed at children later this month.

More than 10,000 people have signed an online petition excoriating the children's network for refusing to eject Brown from the awards despite the fact that he has been charged with assault likely to cause bodily injury and making criminal threats.

The charges relate to an incident on 8 February in which he is alleged to have attacked his girlfriend, the singer Rihanna.

Brown appeared in court in Los Angeles last week to hear the charges. The court was shown pictures of Rihanna with bruises on her face and heard that Brown, 19, had hit her repeatedly in the face, splattering blood in their limousine.

He is alleged to have threatened to kill her following an argument between the couple sparked by a text message to Brown from another woman.

The petition, which has received 10,600 signatures, says Nickelodeon should have removed Brown from the list of nominees for the awards evening on 28 March immediately the charges were filed. He is up for two awards, favorite male singer and favorite song.

The petition calls for Rihanna's name to be stripped from the list of nominees on the grounds that she has vowed to continue the relationship with Brown.

"While we don't think public figures are expected to always act responsibly in the name of being a role model, this situation is unacceptable on both sides. To say that either of these people setting a suitable example to be held up as 'winners' is preposterous," the petition says.

The alleged violent attack has earned Brown widespread opprobrium. The TV celebrity Oprah Winfrey has announced plans to hold a special show dedicated to domestic abuse of women. She told Rihanna: "If a man hits you once, he will hit you again. He will hit you again."

Nickelodeon has so far resisted the pressure to remove Brown and Rihanna from the nominees' list. A spokesman for the channel said: "Chris Brown was nominated by kids several months ago based on his body of work as a performer, and the kids who vote will ultimately decide who wins in the category."