Fans Have Mixed Reactions As Kelly Rowland Supports Chris Brown At AMAs

Fans have got their tongues wagging in numbers to Kelly Rowland’s open support of Chris Brown.

The American Music Award was easily the highlight of this past weekend. In its 50th edition, the event was held at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles with Wayne Brady as the show’s host. 

Although the show went smoothly, there was an outburst from fans when Brown was announced as a winner for a category. The Destiny's Child alum, who presented the award, openly expressed her support for Brown, and many fans had something to say about this. 

In the clip that circulated, Rowland came onstage to present the award for Favorite Male R&B Artist. Emerging as the winner of the category was Brown. However, he wasn’t onsite.  As the “Brown Eyes” singer mentioned his name, shouts of boos erupted from the audience.

In giving an acceptance speech on Brown’s behalf, the “Bootylicious” singer appeared to rebuke the audience who were making jest of Brown. "Excuse me, chill out,” Rowland said. She then continued to appreciate Brown's craft and contribution to the R&B genre.

"I want to tell Chris, ‘Thank you so much for making great R&B music,’ and I want to tell him, ‘Thank you for being an incredible performer,’ " Rowland said. "I’ll take this award, bring it to you. I love you."

Twitter users had a field day with Rowland’s apparent show of support for the dancer. Some users opined that the singer didn’t quite deserve the award. A user expressed this, writing, “What the f**k is Chris brown doing still winning awards, and why is Kelly Rowland up there thanking his a** wtf truly.”

Another user wrote, “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.” An avid fan of Rowland seemed shocked by her behavior, adding, “Kelly Rowland defending Chris Brown with her whole chest. Yikes”

However, some other observers were on the opposing side, appraising the “Emotion” singer for supporting Brown. An observer wrote, “Chris brown definitely deserves that award #amas and shout out to Kelly Rowland for making sure everybody know to appreciate Chris browns impact on music and more specifically r&b music.”

One more supportive comment read, “I appreciate what Kelly Rowland did. People will demonize a person as if they can never learn, change or grow. Praying for Chris Brown ❤️.”

Additionally, a follower pointed out that the “Dilemma” singer risked her career to support Brown. “Kelly Rowland just risked her career for that Chris Brown shout-out!”

The excited user further shared, “I’m so proud of the black community for standing behind Chris in this AMA fiasco. Congrats Breezy! You deserved the win and everyone deserves a second chance. WE LOVE YOU!”

In showing admiration for the actress, a follower penned a lengthy message addressing people who condemned Rowland, writing, “White women across America are days away from happily sharing Thanksgiving dinner with their racist, anti-abortion, Trump loving dads, uncles, brothers, husbands, and granddads but have the unseasoned AUDACITY to attempt shaming Kelly Rowland for appreciating Chris Brown’s work.”

Rowland’s show of love for the 33-year-old artist comes a few days after he revealed that the AMA canceled his performance. According to reports, the R&B star posted a clip that featured him practicing for the event. 

In the video, the singer was spotted rehearsing some Michael Jackson-inspired moves to iconic songs like "Beat It" and “Billie Jean.” The songwriter captioned the update, "U SERIOUS?" He followed up in a later comment, writing ... "WOULDVE been the ama performance, but they cancelled me for reasons unknown.”

There are ongoing speculations as to why the performance was canceled — with some citing Brown's abuse history, particularly with Rihanna as the reason — but the AMAs is yet to offer a public reason.

This isn't the first time artists have been bashed for their connection to the "Fine China" singer. In June, we reported that Normani was criticized for featuring as a video vixen for Brown’s song “Warm Embrace.” The video displayed the duo being intimate, as there was a scene where they both went underwater, with Normani straddling Brown’s knee. 

Although some followers were in awe of Normani’s dancing skills, others opined that she shouldn’t have associated with the rapper, given his past controversial issues. 

“Idk why the new R&B girls feel the need to collaborate with him,” a fan opined in a tweet, which went viral and has been retweeted almost 2,000 times. “Ella Mai, HER, Chlöe, now Normani. It’s disappointing. I can’t say I get it because he has repeated his behavior toward women, kicked dark skin women out of clubs he’s in and has made the same song since 2012.”

Fans would recall that the actor has a long list of accusers, including famous singer Rihanna and his ex-girlfriend Karrueche Tran.