Chris Brown, the R&B crooner, is facing jail time if convicted of

two felonies arising from the alleged February beating, in Hancock Park, of his pop-star girlfriend, Rihanna. Still, Brown, who has already lost an endorsement deal with Wrigley gum because of his troubles, got some good news today. Cable TV channel Nickelodeon has announced it is standing by Brown and will keep his name in as a nominee for its Kids Choice Awards. Brown is nominated in both the male singer and favorite song categories for “Kiss Kiss.” In an ironic twist, Brown will be competing with Rihanna for the song category, leading to inevitable speculation about possible headlines should he win (i.e., “Brown Beats Rihanna — Again”).

Photo: Matt Sayles/Associated Press

US Magazine.com reports that the day Brown was charged with the counts

for assault and making a violent threat, he posted a MySpace blog

asking his young Nickelodeon fans to vote for him. An online petition

is gathering signatures to make Nickelodeon change its mind and asks

that the network drop both Brown and Rihanna from the contest, whose

winners are to be announced at an awards show to air March 28 .

“We are apalled [sic] that Chris

Brown and Rhianna [sic] are still listed as a nominees on the Nickelodeon

Kid's Choice Awards show,” the petition begins, and criticizes

Rihanna's inclusion in the competition because she “plans to continue

the relationship in spite of a violent attack by Brown. Had she made

the rational decision to accept the no-contact order and end the

relationship, she would not be named in this petition!”

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