Kelly Rowland defended Chris Brown on stage at the 2022 American Music Awards after the singer took home a win for Favorite Male R&B Artist on Sunday night. The “Under the Influence” singer, who pleaded guilty to assaulting then-girlfriend Rihanna in 2009, was not there to accept the award in person after an apparent rift between Brown and the AMAs. On Instagram this week, Brown posted “U SERIOUS?” in a nod to the cancellation of his planned performance of a Michael Jackson tribute. He commented underneath: “WOULDVE been the ama performance but they cancelled me for reasons unknown. 🤷🏽‍♂️” After she announced Brown’s name for the award Sunday night, former Destiny’s Child star Rowland spoke up as boos could be heard within the audience. “Now, Chris Brown is not here tonight so I’m accepting the award on his behalf,” she said, as she held up a finger to the audience. “Excuse me. Chill out.” She continued: “But I wanna tell Chris Brown thank you so much for making great R&B music. And I wanna tell him thank you for being an incredible performer.” She added she would hold onto the award and deliver it to him personally.