UPDATED 2/18, 12:17 p.m.: An official statement from an NBA spokesperson about the Chris Brown situation has been released. "Ruffles had no input on the Celebrity Game rosters," read a statement issued to Complex.
Ruffles has also issued a statement, saying the company had no involvement in the roster decisions regarding the Celebrity Game. "Ruffles sponsored last night's NBA All-Star Celebrity Game, however we did not have any involvement in, nor visibility to, any player decisions or celebrity invite discussions," read a message posted to the chip company's official X page.
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Chris Brown says he was uninvited from playing in the 2024 NBA All-Star Celebrity Game.
The NBA All-Star Weekend kicked off on Friday, including a Celebrity Game in Indianapolis, Indiana that Brown claims he was originally invited to play in. Brown, 34, fired off a series of posts on his Instagram Story early Saturday morning, including screenshots of what appears to be correspondence he received from an event organizer. The screenshots show detailed logistics for the weekend, as well as uniforms for the games.
The singer then suggested that one of the game’s sponsors, Ruffles, took issue with his participation in the game.
“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. At this point I'm sick of people bothering me and I'm tired of living in the fucking past. 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 wrote on Instagram.
“I ONLY GO WHERE IM APPRECIATED,” he added in a separate post.
Brown didn’t specify what events from the past he believes may have played a role in his removal from the All-Star game. However, the singer’s career has been plagued with headline-generating drama since his 2009 assault of then-girlfriend Rihanna.
Last November, Brown denied accusations of being anti-semitic after a video surfaced of him partying with the artist formerly known as Kanye West in Abu Dhabi while listening to a song off of his album, Vultures Volume 1.
"IN NO WAY SHAPE OR FORM AM I ANTISEMETIC!!!" Brown wrote on his Instagram Stories. "IM PRO LIFE AND I MAKE MUSIC FOR THE ENTIRE WORLD!!!!!! So please do not get tricked into thinking I spread hate or am kool with it! This [is] for the millions of young kids that look up to [me] and [might] be confused."
