Chris Brown has been criticized for grabbing a fan's neck on stage while giving her one of his famous lap dances. The 33-year-old R&B crooner - who is currently on the UK and Europe leg of his Under the Influence worldwide tour - had been performing a medley of his greatest hits on stage in Manchester this week. As has become his trademark, the 'Run It' singer plucked an attractive young woman from the audience to come to the stage, before performing a lapdance as she sat on a chair in front of the audience. The woman - who turned out to be 23-year-old former Love Island contestant Natalia Zoppa - was serenaded by Brown, who grinded on her while singing 'Take You Down', from his 2007 album Exclusive. In one moment, he appeared to grab the influencer by her neck - and many fans felt uncomfortable at the move. [[tiktokwidget||https://www.tiktok.com/@rikiekelly/video/7210528096397643013]] A video of the dance has since been uploaded to TikTok by a user with the handle @rikiekelly, where it quickly received 2.5 million views and close to 100,000 likes. Many users took to the video's comments section, however, to share their opinions on the singer, who has had a troubled past marked by legal issues and cheating scandals. "I tried this the other day. Court hearing is next week," one person quipped. <img class="wp-image-1263201219 size-full" src="https://img.vt.co/2023/03/Screenshot-2023-03-17-at-14.15.32.png" alt="" width="872" height="130" />[[imagecaption|| Credit: TikTok.com]] "Do they know his history," another person said, evidently referring to an incident that saw him physically assault Rihanna following a pre-Grammys event in February 2009. It tarnished his whole reputation after the 'Umbrella' singer was left hospitalized from her injuries. At the time, Brown was sentenced to 1,400 hours community service and five years probation. <img class="wp-image-1263201220 size-full" src="https://img.vt.co/2023/03/Screenshot-2023-03-17-at-14.16.29.png" alt="" width="506" height="126" />[[imagecaption|| Credit: TikTok.com]] Rihanna was also granted a restraining order against him, but that was eventually dropped after the pair rekindled their romance in 2013. They broke it off again after Brown allegedly cheated on Rihanna with his former flame Karrueche Tran - who also ended up getting a restraining order against him after she testified in court that he had abused her. <img class="wp-image-1263201234 size-full" src="https://img.vt.co/2023/03/brown-rihanna-image.jpg" alt="" width="1535" height="800" />[[imagecaption|| Rihanna and Brown pictured on stage at the Jingle Bell Ball in Madison Square Garden December, 2008. Credit: MediaPunch Inc / Alamy]] Another comment read: "Isn't he the one who used to beat up Rihanna?" <img class="wp-image-1263201226 size-full" src="https://img.vt.co/2023/03/Screenshot-2023-03-17-at-14.27.40.png" alt="" width="772" height="116" />[[imagecaption|| Credit: TikTok.com]] Someone else noted that Zoppa looked as if she was trying to remove Brown's hand from her throat, saying: "you can see how she is trying to get his hand [off her] throat!!!!!!! [sic]" <img class="wp-image-1263201227 size-full" src="https://img.vt.co/2023/03/Screenshot-2023-03-17-at-14.30.51.png" alt="" width="888" height="168" />[[imagecaption|| Credit: TikTok.com]] "He's not got a good track record," a further user added, "why do they always grind on the girls [...] personal space is a thing!" <img class="wp-image-1263201228 size-full" src="https://img.vt.co/2023/03/Screenshot-2023-03-17-at-14.32.42.png" alt="" width="872" height="172" />[[imagecaption|| Credit: TikTok.com]] "Bruh be careful, how was he even allowed entry to UK [considering] his criminal record," someone else said. <img class="wp-image-1263201235 size-full" src="https://img.vt.co/2023/03/Screenshot-2023-03-17-at-14.39.38.png" alt="" width="846" height="164" />[[imagecaption|| Credit: TikTok.com]] Brown - who is a father to two daughters and a son - has spoken out publicly about his violent and abusive past, revealing in a 2017 documentary that the images that were leaked of Rihanna's injuries have haunted him. "I look back at that picture and I'm just like: that's not me. I hate it to this day - that's going to haunt me forever," he said via <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/aug/17/chris-brown-discusses-abuse-of-rihanna-i-felt-like-a-monster" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Guardian</a>. Shortly after the assault in 2009, Rihanna spoke to <a href="https://www.mtv.com/news/qt5r8i/rihanna-details-chris-brown-assault-in-2020-interview" target="_blank" rel="noopener">20/20</a> about the terrifying ordeal, stating that Brown - then 19 - had threatened to kill her, "all I kept thinking was, 'When is it going to stop?'" She then added: "The more in love we became, the more dangerous we became for each other, equally as dangerous." <h6>Featured image credit: Jeffrey Mayer / Alamy</h6>

Chris Brown blasted after grabbing fan's neck on stage

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