Usher responds after fan rejects his onstage lap dance
An Usher concert moment has gone viral for all the wrong reasons after a fan appeared completely unimpressed by the R&B star’s famous onstage charm.
During a recent stop on The R&B Tour with Chris Brown in Nashville, Usher invited fan Gabrielle Cheyenne onstage for one of the show’s more intimate moments.
The 47-year-old singer was performing ‘Can U Handle It?’ when he attempted to serenade Gabrielle on a bed set up onstage.
There was just one problem: she didn’t exactly look like she was having the time of her life.
Videos shared online show Gabrielle appearing stiff and uncomfortable as Usher moved closer to her. After picking up on the awkward energy, he stopped the performance and told the audience, “I don’t think she wanna be on the stage.” She was then escorted offstage.
Turns out, she wanted Chris Brown
After the clip exploded online, Gabrielle explained that she had attended the concert mainly to see Chris Brown.
She said she and her mother were moved from their floor seats into the VIP area before the show and that she wasn’t told which artist would be bringing her onstage.
Gabrielle said that had she known the moment was with Usher, she would have turned the invitation down.
She also admitted that her reaction would have been very different had Chris Brown been the one waiting for her onstage.
So, essentially, she got called up for an Usher lap dance while hoping for a Chris Brown moment.
The internet naturally had opinions.
Usher responds at his next show
Usher has now addressed the viral rejection himself.
During the next tour stop in Birmingham, Alabama, the singer appeared to reference the incident while preparing for another fan interaction.
He warned the audience not to come onstage unless they actually wanted to participate in the moment.
This time, the fan was far more enthusiastic, and Usher turned the previous night's awkwardness into a joke with the crowd.
Gabrielle, meanwhile, has stressed that she has nothing against Usher personally. Despite the internet drama, Cosmopolitan reports that she even posed for a photo with Usher's wife following the show.
All we can say is: imagine being offered an Usher lap dance and thinking, Is Chris Brown coming?