Chris Brown appeared far from impressed that he missed out on scooping the Best R&B Grammy Award on Sunday, if his recent social media posts are anything to go by.
Brown was nominated in the category for his album Breezy (Deluxe), pitching him against Mary J. Blige for Good Morning Gorgeous (Deluxe), Robert Glasper for Black Radio III, Lucky Daye's Candydrip, and P.J. Morton's Watch The Sun.
Glasper was the winner of the category, with the award being handed out in the hours before the live broadcast of the 65th Grammy Awards, held at downtown Los Angeles' Crypto.com Arena.
After it emerged that Glasper, 44, had walked away the victor, Brown, 33, took to his Instagram Story on Sunday to share a post emblazoned with the words: "Who the F*** Is Robert Glasper," to which he added a face with tears of joy emoji.
In an apparent reference to Glasper's accomplished career as a pianist and musical arranger, Brown added in a follow-up post: "I gotta get my skills up... I'ma start playing the harmonica."
Brown's initial post on Glasper was actually shared several days ago by the Grammy-winning musician himself.
On January 30, Glasper posted the comment about himself on his Instagram grid, adding in his caption that it was a question that had been asked recently.
"It's been brought to my attention that y'all have questions about Who TF is Robert Glasper!" the "Freeze Tag" hitmaker wrote. "If y'all have questions, I have answers. Check out my stories to play along!"
Glasper also celebrated his win on Sunday by resharing a series of congratulatory Instagram Story posts from friends and fans alike.
Back in November, Brown's win at the American Music Awards—after his performance at the show was canceled at the last minute—divided fans on Twitter.
During the live broadcast of the ceremony, there were audible boos from the audience at Los Angeles' Microsoft Theatre when presenter Kelly Rowland announced that Brown had scooped the Favorite Male R&B Artist trophy.
Rowland, 41, told the booing crowd to "chill out," before saying on behalf of the absent star: "I wanted to tell Chris, thank you so much for making great R&B music and I want to tell him thank you for being an incredible performer.
"I'll take this award—bring it to you. I love you. Congratulations. And congratulations to all the nominees in this category," Rowland added.
Virginia native Brown's absence from the show came as something of a surprise, as he had been scheduled to perform a Michael Jackson tribute on the night. The performance was canceled without a reason being publicly shared.
Brown has been the subject of contentious debate between fans and detractors over the years, not least because of the numerous incidents of violence involving women he has been associated with, including an altercation with then-girlfriend Rihanna, 34, back in 2009.
In June 2017, Brown's ex-girlfriend Karrueche Tran, 34, got a five-year restraining order against him over accusations that he was aggressive towards her and demanded the return of money and jewels he gave her during their relationship.
As news of Brown's victory circulated across social media, a number of fans jumped to the singer's defense, while others wrote that he should no longer be afforded a platform.
Following Brown's February 2009 altercation with Rihanna, a photo showing her with severe bruising led to a public outcry and criminal charges for Brown, who subsequently pled guilty to assault, completing his probation in March 2015.
Recalling the incident in an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2012, Rihanna said: "It was a weird, confusing space to be in because, as angry as I was, as angry and hurt and betrayed, I just felt like, he made that mistake because he needed help and who's gonna help him? Nobody's gonna say he needs help. Everybody's gonna say he's a monster."
Brown was arrested in January 2019 after a woman accused him of raping her in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Paris. However, he was released with no charges filed against him. Brown said the incident didn't happen, posting to Instagram "This B**** Lyin."
In 2018, a woman identified in court documents as "Cassandra" was granted a restraining order against Brown after she accused him of hitting and stalking her.
About the writer
Ryan Smith is a Newsweek Senior Pop Culture and Entertainment Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on ... Read more
