Kelly Rowland asked the audience at the American Music Awards to “chill out” after they booed Chris Brown’s victory in the best male R&B artist category.
Brown has been a divisive figure ever since he pleaded guilty to assaulting then-girlfriend Rihanna in 2009.
He did not attend Sunday’s AMAs after a planned tribute to Michael Jackson was cancelled at the last minute.
Rowland, accepting the award on his behalf, seemed surprised by the audience’s reaction.
“Excuse me… chill out,” she said as cameras panned to show the audience, some of whom were booing and making other unclear remarks.
Rowland then continued: “But 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 [and] bring it to you. I love you. Congratulations. And congratulations to all the nominees in this category.”
Brown had been due to honour the 40th anniversary of Michael Jackson’s blockbuster Thriller album at Sunday’s ceremony in LA, performing hits including Beat It, Billie Jean, Wanna Be Starting Something and Thriller.
No reason for the cancellation was given. Brown himself was taken aback, posting a video of his rehearsal with the caption: “U serious?”
“Would’ve been the [biggest] AMA performance but they cancelled me for reasons unknown,” he added in the comments.