One concertgoer has opened up about the uncomfortable moment Usher had her escorted off stage, after viewers online questioned why she reacted the way she did.
Gabrielle Cheyenne attended Usher’s Nashville stop over the weekend, part of the singer’s co-headlining The R&B Tour with Chris Brown. The show took place at Nissan Stadium on Saturday, July 25, and featured Usher’s familiar fan-interaction segment during “Can U Handle It?”
At one point in the performance, she was selected from the audience for the flirtatious onstage moment, which usually involves close-up interaction with a fan and, in some shows, a bed set up as part of the production.
After videos of the exchange spread across social media, Cheyenne found herself facing heavy criticism and has since shared her side of the story.
“First off NOBODY is declining to go on stage,” she wrote on Facebook, as fans questioned why she didn’t decline the invite if she wasn’t up for the occasion.
Footage from the concert appears to show her sitting stiffly while Usher reached toward her face and attempted to lead her toward a bed set up on stage.
“I don’t think she want to be on the stage, huh?” he asked the audience, before signalling to security for her to be removed.
Cheyenne later defended herself online and explained why she chose to take part in the moment.
“I looked good asf, you think I wasn’t going to let THOUSANDS of people see me?
“On the big screen, where you bi***es will never be???? My mom and I had FLOOR SEATS. Their team approached us and moved us to VIP before the show even started!”
She also said the production team never told her which performer she would be joining on stage, noting that Brown has a similar fan-interaction segment during his part of the show as well.
“Y’all wanted me to get up there and f*** him atp? That’s the most exciting thing that would’ve happened in y’all little a** lives!! F*** yall, DISRESPECTFULLY.”
As criticism continued into Sunday, Cheyenne uploaded several selfies to Instagram and labeled them ‘unbothered’.
She then used her Instagram Stories to push back further against the negative reaction.
“Y’all aren’t gonna get on the internet calling me out my name and disrespecting me and expect me to keep it cool!
“Don’t think that y’all are going to bully me about an experience that y’all didn’t get!”
She said the response online had become ‘nasty’ and made clear she does not regret how she handled the unusual moment.
The viral clip is the latest moment from The R&B Tour to spread widely online, with Usher and Chris Brown’s joint stadium run drawing huge attention since it launched in Denver last month.