Chris Brown "went ballistic", reportedly trashing his TV dressing-room after an interviewer asked him repeatedly about his 2009 attack on then-girlfriend Rihanna. The r'n'b star stormed from Good Morning America's New York studios, according to sources from the network, calling off a performance – and tearing off his shirt.
Brown was scheduled to perform two songs on the Monday morning broadcast, as well as speaking with anchor Robin Roberts about his new album, F.A.M.E. However Roberts insisted on asking him questions about the February 2009 domestic assault. After pleading guilty to the attack, Brown completed a 52-week domestic violence course and remains on probation. "I'm past that in my life," Brown said, on-camera. "I've been focusing on this album." But when he explained the meaning of his album title – it stands for Forgiving All My Enemies – Roberts pushed again. "You can understand how some people ... It was very serious what you went through and what happened," she said. "This album is what I want to talk about," Brown snapped. "Not what happened two years ago."
Although Brown finished the interview, he reportedly declined to perform a second song. Instead he stormed off set, according to the New York Post, barking, "That wasn't cool, man!" The 21-year-old shut himself in his dressing-room and allegedly tore the room apart. "He went crazy," a source told E!. "He smashed a chair into a window and that glass is so thick, people heard shattering and security was called ... It was to the point where people were scared." Glass from the broken window fell on to 43rd Street and Broadway below.
Police were not called, but Brown left in a hurry; he emerged from the building bare-chested and fuming. "I'm so over people bringing this past shit up," he wrote – and later deleted – on Twitter. "Yet we praise Charlie Sheen and other celebs for there bullshit (sic)." The singer later cancelled a scheduled interview on MTV. Good Morning America's parent network defended the interview in a statement. "As always, we ask questions that are relevant and newsworthy, and that's what we did in this interview with Mr Brown," ABC wrote.
Last month, a judge in California softened the restraining order preventing Brown from contacting his ex-girlfriend. The judge warned Brown not to harass Rihanna, from whom he had been ordered to stay at least 50 yards away.
