Chris Brown has deactivated his Instagram account after his viral onstage lap dance with Kayla Nicole triggered a controversy. The R&B star pulled the plug on his account following heated backlash tied to long-standing accusations of colorism, making headlines just days after his Breezy Bowl XX performance in Los Angeles.
Chris Brown deactivates Instagram amid Kayla Nicole’s lap dance
The moment that set off the backlash came during Brown’s Los Angeles stop at SoFi Stadium on September 14. In the middle of performing his 2007 hit Take You Down, the singer brought out Kayla Nicole, a sports journalist, podcast host, and ex-girlfriend of Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
Nicole reclined on a red chaise as Brown performed one of his signature lap dance routines, with the crowd erupting as the two shared playful chemistry. At one point, the singer kissed her leg, fueling speculation that he leaned in for more before the lights dimmed. Nicole later gushed about the experience on Instagram, saying she did it for “the teenage me blasting CB in her bedroom” and, most importantly, “for my brown girls.”
While fans at the concert cheered, the online reaction was otherwise. Critics resurfaced past allegations against Brown, accusing him once again of favoring lighter-skinned women. The debate reignited after viral clips of the lap dance circulated, with some users on X calling him “a colorist” and insisting that the music community acknowledge his alleged history.
Chris Brown initially clapped back on his Instagram Story, writing, “Miss me with that colorist rage baiting!!!” But the criticism didn’t slow down. Not long after, he announced, “Ima take a break from social media. Y’all done pissed me off long enough.” By Monday, his Instagram account was deactivated.
This isn’t the first time Brown has been hit with accusations of colorism. In 2023, two women in the U.K. claimed they were denied entry into a VIP section at a party because of their skin tone, a charge Brown dismissed at the time. The LA fallout, however, seems to have pushed him to step away from Instagram entirely, at least for now.
