Chris Brown has said that he was “uninvited” from last week’s NBA All-Star Celebrity Game, after having initially been told he was welcome to attend.
The annual exhibition game took place in Indianapolis last week (February 15), with musicians including Jennifer Hudson, Lil Wayne, 50 Cent and Backstreet Boys’ AJ McLean all involved.
Now, Brown has said that he was initially invited to play in the game too, “only for them to call later and say they couldn’t do it because of their sponsors like Ruffles”, he wrote on Instagram.
“At this point I’m sick of people bothering me and I’m tired of living in the fucking past. I POSTED THE EMAILS SO YALL COULD SEE,” he continued. “The NBA still was tryna get me to come and sit court side…NOT FUCKING HAPPENING. I ONLY GO WHERE I’M APPRECIATED.”
Ruffles, in a response issued to Stereogum, said they “did not have any involvement in, nor visibility to, any player decisions or celebrity invite discussions.”
In 2009, Brown assaulted Rihanna and was later found guilty of felony assault.
Brown has since faced a slew of other legal battles in recent years, including potential jail time for owning a pet monkey and a lawsuit over an alleged dog attack involving his housekeeper. In 2021, Brown was reportedly under police investigation over the alleged battery of a woman, charges that were later dropped due to “insufficient evidence”.
Last year, Brown was accused of “pure theft” after claims that he took a $1.1million (£915,750) performance fee for a hurricane benefit concert that he pulled out of.
In October, he was sued for allegedly hospitalising a man after he beat him with a tequila bottle and stomped on him in a nightclub.
Last February, Brown reacted to a renewed set of criticism he was receiving after the release of a collaboration with Chlöe Bailey.
He wrote: “If y’all still hate me for a mistake I made as a 17-year-old, please kiss my whole entire ass. I’m fucking 33. I’m so tired of y’all running with this narrative.”
“Where are the cancel culture with these white artist that date underage women [or] beat the fuck out their wives,” he added.
“Oh. That’s right. They are your buddies. No more fake love from me. Stay out [of] my way or get ran over. Simple as that. None of you and I mean none of you can fuck with me.”