The singer said he was originally set to play in this year’s celebrity game, only to be uninvited after the fact.

 

Chris Brown

Chris Brown revealed that he was invited to play on a team during the NBA All-Star Game Weekend, only to be uninvited later.

The singer shared screenshots on social media of emails that welcomed him to the festivities, including a mock-up of the blue uniform he would be wearing while on the celebrity team coached by Lil Wayne.

“I was asked by the NBA to play in the all star game this year! Only for them to call later and say they couldn’t do IT because of their sponsors, like RUFFLES,” Brown wrote on his Instagram Story. “At this point I’m sick of people bothering me and I’m tired of living in the fucking past.”

He continued, “I POSTED THE EMAILS SO YALL COULD SEE. The NBA still was tryna get me to come and sit court side… NOT FUCKING HAPPENING.” He concluded his posts: “I ONLY GO WHERE IM APPRECIATED.”

The email screenshots said they were “thrilled” that Brown would be a part of the celebrity portion of the weekend, which is taking place in Indianapolis. They also connected the singer to his point of contact for the event, who would handle the logistics, like schedule, travel, etc.

“Ruffles had no input into the Celebrity Game rosters,” an NBA Spokesperson said in a statement.

Ruffles released an official statement following Brown’s posting that read: “Ruffles sponsored last night’s NBA All-Star Celebrity Game, however, Ruffles did not have any involvement in, nor visibility to, any player decisions or celebrity invite discussions.”

All-Star Weekend kicked off Friday night with the All-Star Celebrity Game, which is what Brown would have played in. The teams were made up of celebrities like Jennifer Hudson, AJ McLean, Lilly Singh, Quincy Isaiah and others.

Saturday night will see NBA stars battle it out during All-Star night, which includes the skills challenge, three-point contest and the slam dunk contest. The actual All-Star Game takes place Sunday, with standouts like LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Durant, Luka Dončić and more playing against each other.

Feb. 17, 2:15 p.m. Updated with an official statement from Ruffles.
Feb. 18, 3:19 p.m. Updated with official statement from NBA.