R&B singer Usher, 47, has denied claims that he used a clone to perform in his place during a concert in New Jersey. Fans alleged after his August 7 performance that he deployed a body double on stage, with one user writing online that "usher really sent out his doppelganger."
Usher responded to the cloning accusations in the comments section of a video posted by radio station Power 105.1 addressing the theory. "Y'all are funny...clone? They can't clone this??" Usher commented. In a second comment, he added, "How y'all come up with this? (laughing crying emojis)" and stated, "AI ain't that advanced."
Nissan Stadium Stage Incident
The cloning claims follow a previous controversy during Usher's current tour, The R&B Tour, which he is co-headlining with 37-year-old artist Chris Brown. Video of a fan rejecting Usher's seductive moves on stage went viral last month during a concert at Nissan Stadium in Nashville.
The fan, 24-year-old nurse and mom of one Gabrielle Cheyenne from Chattanooga, had been pulled from a VIP section inside the venue and escorted to a bed on the stage. As the shirtless singer performed his 2004 song Can U Handle It? and moved his torso over her, Cheyenne reclined while remaining stiff and holding an uncomfortable facial expression.
Observing her stiff posture, Usher shot a shocked look at the audience and exclaimed, "I don't think she wanna be on the stage." He then removed his in-ear headphones one by one and gestured for security to remove Cheyenne from the stage.
Subsequent Concert Performances
Usher responded a few days later at Protective Stadium in Birmingham, Alabama, by inviting a more willing participant on stage and simulating sex with her. Before starting the display, Usher told the crowd, "Now before we get started, don’t bring your ass up here if you don’t want to be here."
Addressing Cheyenne's comments about receiving her venue seats, Usher added, "God don’t like ugly, but he most certainly don’t feel too good about pretty privilege either." In another viral clip from the tour, a different fan straddled and ground on Usher as he lay on a bed.
Fan and Family Response
Cheyenne responded to critics on Facebook after many internet users argued she should have declined the stage invitation. "First off NOBODY is declining to go on stage. I looked good asf, you thought I wasn't gonna let THOUSANDS of people see me?? On the big screen where you b****es will never be?" she wrote.
Cheyenne explained that she and her mother originally held floor seats before receiving an upgrade to the VIP section due to "pretty privilege." Responding to speculation that she had preferred a lap dance from Chris Brown, Cheyenne noted that venue staff did not inform her which artist she would join on stage.
Cheyenne's aunt, Tia Byrd, defended her niece in a Facebook post. "Just so ya’ll know, that viral young lady at the Usher concert was my mfing niece and we [were] all together! She was bad enough to be chosen and that man is literally [twice] her age," Byrd wrote.
Byrd also revealed that Cheyenne spoke backstage with Usher's wife, Jennifer Goicoechea. "After she left the stage she had a nice conversation with [Usher's] wife! Idc what anyone else would do but at least she had enough respect for her mom and dad, boyfriend, brother, AND CHILD! At the end of the day, she went home to her man and HE went home to HIS WIFE!" Byrd wrote.
In Instagram Stories posts shared on Sunday, Cheyenne stated her Facebook message was aimed at "the hating h**s in my city which is Chattanooga." She wrote, "My attitude isn't "nasty" until provoked!! Y'all aren't gonna get on the internet calling me out my name and disrespecting me and expect me to keep it cool!" Cheyenne added that she is "quiet" in real life and warned critics, "Don't think that y'all are gonna bully me about an experience that you didn't get."
