Usher has broken his silence after he kicked a fan off stage due to her awkward response to his “sexual” performance.
As previously reported, the 47-year-old musician tried to serenade a fan in Nashville during his The R&B Tour, which he co-headlines with Chris Brown.
A video from the concert shows the Grammy-winning star, who was shirtless, singing to the fan, identified as Gabrielle Cheyenne, as she sat stiffly and had a tight smile on her face.
Things took an unexpected turn at Usher’s concert. Credit: Denise Truscello / Getty
The ‘Yeah!’ crooner tried to save the segment by lightly touching her chin and face, but when he tried to guide her toward an onstage bed, she pulled back.
Usher recognized the lack of chemistry, and backed off. He then asked the crowd: “I don’t think she want to be on the stage, huh?”, before completely stepping away and signaling for her to be removed from the stage.
How social media reacted to the moment
The moment blew up on the internet, with many users slamming Cheyenne for her reserved reaction, and arguing that she should have never agreed to go up if she did not want to participate.
“Why would she go up there and play in that man face. Like girl,” one user said, while a second reacted: “This is really embarrassing moment for her.”
A third criticized: “She shouldn’t have went. She did that on purpose. Whether you agree with their performances or not, they show you what they do all the time! She knew so she should have passed it on to the next girl. Smh.”
Meanwhile, one user understood both sides: “Nothing wrong on either side. If she didn’t want Usher in her face like that, she’s shouldn’t have gotten up there. But also, Usher is a romanticized celebrity putting on a show, so he has the right to give her the boot if she isn’t playing ball.”
Another speculated: “I don’t think his ego is hurt just as a dude in his right mind if I see my actions or advances are making a female uncomfortable im out we not chasing or making a woman feel like I’m on some type of mission.”
Woman speaks out after backlash
Cheyenne issued a statement after receiving backlash and explained why she reacted the way she did.
She made it clear that she was more than happy to be seen by the crowd, even if she did not want to get overly physical with the singer.
“First off NOBODY is declining to go on stage,” she wrote. “I looked good asf, you think I wasn’t going to let THOUSANDS of people see me?”
She explained that she and her mom had floor seats for the concert. Before the show began, the ‘Love in This Club’ musician’s team approached them and upgraded them to the VIP section due to what she described as “pretty privileges”.
However, the staff did not explain what her role would be later in the evening. “They don’t say who you’re going up there for!” she penned, pointing out that Chris Brown was also on the bill.
She then slammed the internet for their reaction, saying: “Y’all wanted me to go up there and f**k him atp?”
As backlash continued into Sunday, Cheyenne shared selfies captioned “Unbothered,” making it clear she wasn’t letting the online criticism spoil her experience.
She also took to her Instagram Stories to insist that her reserved reaction should not be mistaken for having a bad attitude.
“Y’all aren’t gonna get on the internet calling me out my name and disrespecting me and expect me to keep it cool!” she expressed. She added: “Don’t think that yall are gonna bully me about an experience that yall didn’t get!”
She would have reacted differently to Chris Brown
A few days later, Cheyenne doubled down during an interview with TMZ, admitting she would have reacted very differently if she had shared the moment with Brown instead.
“Me, solely, I went to the concert for Chris Brown, it’s nothing against Usher,” she said. “So, of course, it would have been a different reaction with Chris Brown…It wouldn’t have been the stiffness or whatever the internet is portraying.”
She also took an unintentional dig at Usher by noting their age difference.
“I mean, I’ve been listening to his music since I was a little girl,” she said. “I know his music, but I can prefer one artist over the other.”
Usher posted this on his Instagram Story after the moment went viral. Credit: Usher / Instagram
Usher breaks his silence
While the ‘DJ Got Us Fallin’ In Love’ singer didn’t directly respond to the incident, he did share three videos on his Instagram Story ahead of his concert in Birmingham, Alabama.
The clips showed him inside the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex and were captioned: “Birmingham Night 1” alongside two peace sign emojis and an eyes emoji.
He also paired the videos with his track ‘Can U Handle It?’.
It’s not the first time an Usher concert has gone viral
This isn’t the first time Usher has found himself at the centre of conversation after serenading a fan on stage.
Two years ago, the singer made headlines after actress Keke Palmer attended one of his Las Vegas shows wearing a sheer black dress over a bodysuit.
Usher serenaded her with his hit ‘There Goes My Baby’ as the pair shared a playful but respectful dance.
After footage of the moment exploded across social media, Palmer’s then-boyfriend and the father of her child, Darius Jackson, publicly criticized her outfit, tweeting: “It’s the outfit tho… you a mom.”
The ‘OMG’ singer later addressed the viral moment, saying: “Every night I’m thinking about how the world now is going to react to this moment that I’ll have with whoever I’m choosing to sing to.
“But it was a pop moment, and it was fun to have at least conversation going, and we just keep it light. I don’t see anything negative happening in Las Vegas,” he added.
