Jordin Sparks joins Kelly Rowland in backing Chris Brown amid AMAs controversy: 'It's about his talent'

Jordin Sparks voiced his support for Chris Brown after an awkward moment at the American Music Awards on Nov. 20 where singer Kelly Rowland silenced a booed crowd when she accepted the award for Favorite Male R&B Artist on behalf of Brown.

Sparks told TMZ she loves Brown and thinks he should have been at the ceremony awards ceremony on Sunday evening. “People deserve to be able to grow, learn and be able to live their lives without anything weighing them down. Everyone deserves that…especially him,” the singer said.

Sparks, who collaborated with Brown on 2008's "No Air" duet, also suggested that the AMAs should have let the singer go ahead with his tribute to Michael Jackson. Brown posted a clip from the rehearsals for the awards show on her Instagram with the caption "U SERIOUS?" and in the comments he claimed the showcase was canceled "for unknown reasons".

"Honestly, I think this shouldn't even be a conversation anymore. It's about his talent,” Sparks said of Brown's controversial past, which includes the high-profile domestic violence incident involving his then-girlfriend Rihanna. “They just shouldn't have canceled the performance. That's how I feel."

On Monday, Rowland amplified his original statements to TMZ, saying "I believe grace is very real, and we all need a dose of that, and before we point fingers at anyone, we should realize how grateful we are for every moment we receive."

She added: "We are all to be forgiven for anything we might do - we all come short in a way. Grace is real, and we are human, and everyone deserves grace, period."

On the same day, a spokesperson for the production company released a statement via ET explaining that the cancellation was simply due to creative direction.

“Live shows change all the time, that's the nature of this business; unfortunately, this element of the AMAs did not come together as we could not match the performance, through no fault of Chris Brown,” the statement read, according to the publication.

Brown's last TV performance was at the BET Awards in 2017. He previously claimed that he was blacklisted by the industry because of the Rihanna incident, though he's had to deal with other legal issues since then. Brown did not directly comment on the incident after his original Instagram post, but did post a story with the caption "You can't fight all your battles using the same weapons."

Comments