Rapper Wiz Khalifa and Michael Jackson's daughter Paris have chastised Twitter.com users for spreading sick rumours about the death of singer Chris Brown.
"Rip Chris Brown" became a trending topic on Twitter on Wednesday (15Feb12), just three days after the Kiss Kiss hitmaker came under fire for his return to the Grammy Awards stage on the third anniversary of his infamous fight with ex-girlfriend Rihanna.
Brown performed twice during the ceremony and picked up the Best R&B Album prize for F.A.M.E., but a slew of industry executives, fans and stars, like country singer Miranda Lambert and reality TV star Jack Osbourne, felt his presence was inappropriate considering his assault conviction.
The singer fired back at the criticism via Twitter on Tuesday (14Feb12), raging, "Hate all u (you) want becuz (because) I got a Grammy now! That's the ultimate f**k off! I'm back so watch my back as I walk away from all this negativity."
His defiant stance prompted some cruel bloggers to start false gossip claiming Brown had suffered an untimely death, and word spread quickly across the Internet.
But Brown's pal Khalifa has acted swiftly to end the rumours and he has blasted pranksters for joking about such a serious matter.
He tweets, "Rip Chris Brown? Seriously. Grow up. Death is nothing to joke about k (OK). People die everyday and you're just sitting and joking about it. Smh (shaking my head)."
The King of Pop's daughter Paris Jackson, a big fan of Brown's, has also expressed her feelings about the hoax, writing: "WhyDoPeopleThink that saying... Rip Chris Brown, or any other living artists is funny? Y (why) is it even a trending topic?This world…"
Brown's violent outburst on the eve of the Grammys in 2009 landed him a hard labour sentence, as well as five years' probation and an order to stay away from the Umbrella beauty, which has since been relaxed.