While those involved probably wish it weren’t, one of the most/only notable things to come out of american music awards Sunday was a moment when Chris Brown, who was not there, won the title of favorite male R&B artist. Presenter Kelly Rowland accepted the award on her behalf, at which point some people in the crowd started booing and (as Variety describes it) making “unclear cries”, and she replied, “Excuse me, relax” before talking a bit about how Brown is an “incredible performer” and how she wanted to thank him for his “great music”.
Chris Brown, of course, pleaded guilty to felony assault for attacking Rihanna in 2009, model Karrueche Tran was granted a permanent injunction against him in 2017, and this year he was sued for $20 million for allegedly drugging and raping a woman.
Today, TMZ caught up with Rowland (Going through Variety), and she seemingly reiterated her apparent support for Brown, saying, “I believe grace is very real, and we all need a dose of it, and before we point fingers at anyone, we should realize how grateful we are for every moment we have.” She added: “We all need to be forgiven for anything we might do – we all fail in one way or another. Grace is real, and we are human, and everyone deserves grace, period.
To be fair to Kelly Rowland, she wasn’t the one who chose to give Chris Brown an award, she was just the one who introduced him (and then told everyone to stop booing)because celebrities are rarely the most unbiased source when it comes to criticizing other celebrities, regardless. Either way, maybe the next awards show that wants to hand out some kind of award to Chris Brown will think twice before doing so.