James Brown's Wife Strife

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http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,13377,00.html

 

James Brown's Wife Strife

 

by Sarah Hall

 

Turns out James Brown's love can do you some harm.

 

The Godfather of Soul was arrested Wednesday and charged with criminal domestic violence after he allegedly shoved his wife during a dispute at their home in Beech Island, South Carolina.

 

Brown, 70, and wife Tomi Rae, 33, were arguing in their bedroom when Brown reportedly pushed his missus to the floor, scratching and bruising her right arm and hip, police said. She was taken to a hospital, while Brown was taken into custody at the Aiken County sheriff's department.

 

The Sex Machine remained in the slammer until a bond hearing Thursday. During the brief court gathering, the veteran entertainer denied the charge.

 

"I would never hurt my wife and beat up on her like that," said Brown. "I love her very much."

 

Love or not, the presiding judge ordered Mr. Dynamite to stay away from the wife, who did not put in an appearance at the courtroom.

 

Brown, honored last month at the Kennedy Center Honors as "one of the most influential musicians of the past 50 years," now faces a maximum sentence of 30 days in jail and a $500 fine.

 

The Hardest Working Man in Show Business is no stranger to life behind bars. Between 1988 and 1991, he served two and a half years of a six-year sentence stemming from charges of assault, failure to stop for an officer, resisting arrest and illegal possession of a gun and drugs.

 

After he proved he could groove like an upstanding member of society, Brown was paroled early for good behavior. But it wasn't the end of his run-ins with Johnny Law.

 

In 1998, Brown was back in the hot seat after family members, convinced he was "deteriorating," got a probate judge to order him transferred to a mental hospital.

 

When police dropped by with the paddy wagon, they discovered an illegal stash of guns and pot chez Brown.

 

The singer was subsequently packed off to 90 days in residential rehab to kick a painkiller addiction.

 

In 2000, Brown was sued by a former employee for sexual harassment and wrongful termination. However, in 2002, a Los Angeles court cleared him of the harassment charges and ruled that he owed plaintiff Lisa Agbalaya just $40,000 in wrongful termination fees--a far cry from the $1 million she originally sought.

 

In an additional triumph for the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, the state of South Carolina granted him a pardon in May 2003, clearing his slate of all past legal woes. (The pardon has no bearing on his current predicament.)

 

"God bless America on this beautiful day. I hope my pardon shows the youth that America is a beautiful country," Brown said at the time, adding, "I feel good!"

 

We're guessing he's singing a different tune right about now.