Online Reporter
MANCHESTER. — Chris Brown has been accused of ‘‘harassing’’ female concert goers with a ‘‘weird sex show’’ segment during his current tour which arrived in the UK on Sunday.
During his show, the singer, 36, invited female concert-goers up on stage as part of the performance, before grinding on them and even kissing one on the lips.
Chris welcomed a member of the audience up on stage during his rendition of Take You Down, where they were laid out on a red velvet sofa throughout the song.
The American star was then filmed thrusting against the women and even appeared to smooch one of them during a recent show in Hamburg, Germany, last week.
During his first show in Manchester on Sunday night, Chris welcomed another woman up on stage who he was seen grinding against during the track.
Chris kicked off his UK tour in Manchester, days before he is due back in court after being arrested in the city last month.
The Grammy-winning star performed to thousands of fans at Manchester’s Co-op Live arena on Sunday, with a string of stadium dates to follow in other cities.
On Friday, he will appear in court in London for the latest hearing after he was charged with grievous bodily harm over an alleged assault in a nightclub in 2023.
The 36-year-old, who is free on £5m bail, has not yet been asked to enter a plea.
“Thank you for coming and supporting me,” he said to fans in Manchester. “And thank you to the jail,” he joked, referring to a spell in custody after his arrest.
“It was really nice.”
A video montage was shown of his career highs and lows, including brief clips of TV news footage from outside the Manchester court after he was arrested, which was met by a supportive roar from his loyal fans.
The star is accused of inflicting an “unprovoked attack” on a music producer with a tequila bottle at a nightclub in London while on his last UK tour in 2023.
He was arrested when he returned to the country a month ago, when detectives from London’s Metropolitan Police travelled to the hotel in which he was staying in Salford, Greater Manchester.
He was held in custody for almost a week, before being released after agreeing to pay a £5m security fee to the court.
A security fee is a financial guarantee to ensure a defendant returns to court. Mr Brown could be asked to forfeit the money if he breaches bail conditions.
However, the judge agreed that the singer could go ahead with his tour as part of his bail conditions, and he played the first night in Amsterdam last weekend.
The singer’s Breezy Bowl XX tour is marking 20 years in the music industry.
He came on stage in Manchester to screams from the sold-out crowd and opened the show with Run It, the breakthrough hit that made his name when he was 16.
Later in the gig, Chris asked a woman to join him on stage for the segment, where he was seen again gyrating against her in a sexual fashion.
The move appears inspired by fellow rapper Usher, who introduced a track where he feeds cherries to female audience members in a sexually-charged exchange.
Social media users have condemned Chris’ behaviour and advised the controversial rapper to ‘‘keep it clean’’ following his recent troubles.
They also hit out at his fans for ‘‘setting us back a few centuries’’ for supporting his behaviour.
Sharing their thoughts on X, people said: “Lol you b****s being down bad for abusers is setting us behind a few centuries. I will never understand why anybody gives this rotten a******e attention’’; ‘‘It’s such a bad idea to be doing this . . . he should have kept it clean. Next thing lawsuits.’’
‘‘Is this a sex show or a concert plus kids go to his show @Ticketmaster you need to make all Chris Brown shows 18 plus from now on. Is that Chris Brown? Y’all don’t give a f*** about feminism or women.”
He is an abusive p****
Many drew comparison between Chris and pop star Sabrina Carpenter, as they questioned why she was coming under fire for a racy album cover when he was behaving like this.
Sabrina announced her new album ‘‘Man’s Best Friend’’ on Wednesday, but the cover art for the upcoming release sparked fierce criticism from fans.
The album cover shows her on all fours while a person dressed in black slacks — whose face is not visible — pulls her blonde hair.
She also posted a close-up image of a heart-shaped dog collar engraved with ‘‘Man’s Best Friend’’. The highly sexualised and provocative album art quickly drew backlash.
While many accused Sabrina, for ‘‘setting back feminism’’, others surmised that it was a playful attempt at Sabrina toying with her image, how people perceive her, and how she chooses to respond.
The hitmaker was charged with causing grievous bodily harm to music producer Abe Diaw during the alleged assault at the Tape club in Mayfair in February 2023
Shortly after Chris was released on remand from prison last month, he posted a story to Instagram to tell his 144million followers: “From the cage to the stage,” adding the name of his tour.
His passport was held by lawyers and police until he needed it in an arrangement that will allow him to fulfil tour dates in Europe, the US and Canada, a court heard.
The conditions of his bail mean that he must reside at an address in the UK and can only access his passport when he needed to travel for a tour date, Heidi Stonecliffe KC, prosecuting, said.
Chris Brown’s Breezy Bowl XX tour dates in Europe this summer
June 15: Manchester
June 16: Manchester
June 19: Cardiff
June 21: London
June 22: London
June 24: Manchester
June 26: Birmingham
June 28: Rathfarnham
July 1: Glasgow
July 3: Manchester
July 5: Paris
July 9: Portimao. — Mailonline/BBC
