Featured Image Credit: TikTok/@rikiekelly
Topics: Celebrity, Music, Love Island
Gregory Robinson
Natalia Zoppa has defended Chris Brown after he held her by the neck on stage.
It all unfolded during a raunchy routine in which the R&B singer invited the fan on stage for a lap dance during one of his sold-out shows at Manchester’s AO Arena.
After the rather provocative moment - in which he grabbed Zoppa's neck - was filmed and went viral online, social media users called out the ‘Forever’ singer and his history of domestic violence.
Now, Zoppa, 23, has spoken out and clarified she ‘loved every minute of it’.
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“Why are people assuming the worst? It's actually annoying,” she told MailOnline. “I loved every minute of it.”
The reality star and OnlyFans model - who was a Casa Amor bombshell on Winter Love Island in 2020 - said she was ‘happy’ to take part during the ‘Take You Down’ performance.
“I’ve seen previous dances he’s done, and I knew what the routine was. I was more than happy to participate,” she added.
Zoppa insisted that ‘he barely even grabbed me’.
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Brown was convicted of domestic violence against his then-girlfriend Rihanna in 2009 and social media commentators referenced the incident when criticising his on-stage antics.
One person wrote: “This is so disturbing.
“A man with a history of DV, sitting a fan on stage, grabbing her around the neck then thrusting in her face.
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“She may be a Love Island star but she doesn't look comfortable with it.
“Why do women pay to go and watch him?”
Another described the incident as ‘hideous’, while a third said: “This is so unpleasant to watch. Even the fact that she’s on a stage with him doesn’t stop her obvious discomfort - as she puts her hand up to his as it encircles her throat.”
Earlier this month, Brown was criticised after he threw someone's phone directly into the crowd.
The fan was on stage for the lap dance portion of the show but he took it out of her hand at his concert in Berlin on 1 March.
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After gyrating in front of the woman, Brown noticed that the woman was preoccupied trying to film the moment rather than experiencing it.
This didn't appear to go down well with the singer, who took the phone out of the woman's hand and chucked it into the crowd.
Clips of the incident were subsequently uploaded to TikTok, and people's reactions were divided.