Usher has warned fans not to join him on stage unless they are comfortable taking part in his sensual live routine, after an awkward encounter went viral.
The R&B star addressed fans during a show at Protective Stadium in Birmingham, Alabama on Tuesday (July 28), days after an interaction at his Nashville concert circulated widely online.
“Now, before we get started, don’t bring your ass up here if you don’t want to be here,” he told the audience. “God don’t like ugly, but he most certainly don’t feel too good about pretty privilege either, do he?”
Watch footage below.
The remarks referred to an incident during Usher and Chris Brown’s co-headlining ‘The R&B Tour’ show at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium on Saturday (July 25).
During his regular performance of ‘Can U Handle It?’, Usher invited a woman named Gabrielle Cheyenne on stage and attempted to serenade her while performing a lap dance routine around a prop bed.
Cheyenne remained largely still, avoided eye contact with the singer and appeared reluctant to participate in the routine. After noticing her reaction, Usher stopped dancing and told the crowd: “I don’t think she wanna be on the stage.”
He then gestured for Cheyenne to leave before continuing the performance. Footage of the moment subsequently went viral online.
Cheyenne later defended herself against criticism on social media, explaining that members of the tour’s team had moved her and her mother from their floor seats into the VIP area before the concert.
“First off, NOBODY is declining to go on stage,” she wrote. “I looked good asf, you thought I wasn’t gonna let THOUSANDS of people see me? On the big screen, where you bitches will never be?”
“My mom and I had FLOOR SEATS. Their team approached us and moved us to VIP before the show even started! PRETTY PRIVILEGE, something you hoes will never know about! They don’t say who you’re going up there for!”
She added: “Y’all wanted me to get up there and fuck him at this point? Fuck y’all, DISRESPECTFULLY.”
At the Birmingham show, Usher went on to select another woman from the audience, who participated enthusiastically in the ‘Can U Handle It?’ routine. The new fan climbed on top of the singer and attempted to feed him a cherry, prompting him to turn his head away at the last moment as the audience laughed.
Earlier this year, Usher said disgraced music mogul Diddy had been “misrepresented”, reflecting on the period he spent living with him while recording his debut album in 1994.
“I don’t have anything negative to say about Sean Combs because my experience was not what the world has seen,” he said.
Usher was also reported to have become involved in a “heated exchange” with former protégé Justin Bieber at Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s Oscars after-party in March.
His friend Da Brat later dismissed suggestions that the encounter had become physical, describing the story as “an exaggeration of conversation”.
