Chris Brown Cancels Show After Protests Over Rihanna 2009 Assault
Chris Brown canceled an upcoming stadium concert in Guyana on Thursday following local protests over his 2009 beating of ex-girlfriend Rihanna.
Brown, 23, was scheduled to headline a Dec. 26 show in the city of Georgetown, but concert promoter Hits & Jams Entertainment said Brown backed out of the show citing discomfort with the protests, according to The Associated Press. Women's rights groups and some lawmakers said Brown was not welcomed in Guyana three years after his assault of Rihanna.
Brown's representatives told E! News a different story, though: "This concert was never confirmed. The promoter is being untruthful."
This is not the first time the "Don't Wake Me Up" singer faced angry protests over his Rihanna assault. Earlier in November, a group of protesters in Sweden put up posters with images of Rihanna's 2009 battered face, using it as promotional material for Brown's Nov. 19 concert in Stockholm.
Brown pleaded guilty to felony assault in 2009 and was sentenced to five years of probation. Since then, he and Rihanna collaborated together on music -Brown is featured in "Nobody's Business," Rihanna's new song - and they have been seen in public together, igniting rumors of a rekindled romance.
Brown broke up with his girlfriend Karrueche Tran in the fall, citing his "friendship" with Rihanna as the reason for the split. Rihanna has not been linked to a man for a while.
When Bravo's Andy Cohen asked the "Diamonds" singer on Nov. 7 if she and Brown are together again, she answered, "No. Not together." Regardless, rumors of a relationship between the two singers keep circulating and some fans are disappointed with the reports.
"I understand that Rihanna has to follow her heart. You go girl and you do that. However you are also a role model to young girls, and I will NOT have my young daughter even consider the possibility of going back to an abusive man," online user SteveSinCal wrote on a Huffington Post message board following the release of Rihanna and Brown's "Nobody's Business."
