Kelly Rowland defends Chris Brown from booing AMAs crowd and fans aren’t happy
Kelly Rowland speaks onstage during the 2022 American Music Awards (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Kelly Rowland has been criticised for defending Chris Brown after he was booed at the American Music Awards.
Brown received the AMA for Favourite Male R&B Artist at the awards on Sunday (20 November). He was not present at the event, having claimed that a planned performance tribute to Michael Jackson was cancelled by organisers at the last minute.
Rowland presented the category and accepted the award on the singer’s behalf.
After she announced him as well, the crowd could be heard booing and jeering.
The former Destiny’s Child singer held her finger up and told the audience: “Excuse me. Chill out. But I want to tell Chris ‘thank-you’ for making great R&B music. I wanna tell him ‘thank-you’ for being an incredible performer… I love you.”
“I’ll take this award [and] bring it to you. I love you. Congratulations. And congratulations to all the nominees in this category.”
Kelly Rowland gives Chris Brown his flowers after winning Favorite Male R&B Artist at #AMAs pic.twitter.com/2p9uxCpCpR
— BreezyRelated (@breezyrelated) November 21, 2022
Chris Brown remains a controversial figure due to his assault on then-girlfriend Rihanna in 2009.
He pleaded guilty to felony assault charges, but avoided jail time after taking a plea deal of community labor, five years of probation, and domestic violence counselling.
Brown has faced numerous other allegations over the years, and has served jail time for violating the probation that stemmed from his assault conviction.
He has also been convicted of assaulting another man in 2014, and has been accused of colourism.
It’s why Rowland’s support for the singer has been met with disappointment online.
One wrote: “Kelly Rowland defending Chris brown with her whole chest. Yikes.”
“What the f**k is Chris brown doing still winning awards and why is Kelly Rowland up there thanking his ass wtf truly” added another.
Chris Brown just won an #AMAs *and* Kelly Rowland shushed the audience so she could praise him and preach about how much she loves him? Whew! It might be time to turn this off.— Michael. (@yosoymichael) November 21, 2022
Kelly Rowland defending Chris Brown, an abuser and discriminatory asshat against dark-skinned black women. Embarrassing for her.— That's so Maven (@MavenRaven22) November 21, 2022
The reason for the cancelling of Chris Brown’s AMA Michael Jackson tribute performance is unknown. Brown posted a video of his rehearsal with the caption: “U serious?”
“Would’ve been the [biggest] AMA performance but they cancelled me for reasons unknown,” he added in the comments.
Kelly Rowland was recently praised for deftly answering a radio host who suggested she played “second fiddle” to Beyoncé in Destiny’s Child.
She was also lauded after a video showed her putting together Little Mix, while serving as a judge on The X Factor, on the fly.
