The R&B vocalist named Brown the “King of Pop” during an interview.
Jill Scott recanted her answer about Chris Brown being the “King of Pop” and replaced the R&B vocalist with late music legend Prince.
Although the late Michael Jackson is widely known as the King of Pop (a title originally bestowed on him by Elizabeth Taylor), Scott named the “It Depends” singer while interviewed by content creator cleanheartedkidd in the United Kingdom last week.
“Who’s the King of Pop? Chris Brown,” Scott said with a shrug in the TikTok below.
The answer caught flack on social media from those who believe Brown hasn’t earned the title over Jackson.
TikTok/cleanheartedkidd
TikTok/cleanheartedkidd
In response to the blowback, on Saturday (Jan. 17) Scott reacted in a tweet with a different answer to the question.
“OH! Baby that bs title is a consensus. I obviously wasn’t in the mood,” the vocalist wrote. “If I was asked again, when I hadn’t been up since 3am, fighting jet lag, I’d say Prince.”
She continued, “He is EVERYTHING- Dancer, opulent musician, visionary, divine songwriter, showman. Keep your war. Bigger ones 2 fight.”
missjillscott/X
Earlier in the interview, Scott named the Purple Rain artist, who died in 2016, as someone who should never release music again. While that is of course impossible, his estate has released multiple posthumous albums, including the compilation 4Ever. Scott has publicly proclaimed her love of the Purple One for decades, including in a 2004 interview with MTV News, where she called herself a “huge Prince fan” and said that building a relationship with him was a “dream come true.”
In 2024, Scott made controversial statements defending Brown as someone who’s simply “flawed” despite his history of violence against women. The singer also brought up her mother’s ex-husband, whom she called a “mean” and “violent human” who still had “awe inspiring” skills, seeming to equate him to Brown.