Do not disrespect Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds. While he can be the epitome of grace when one plays in his face, his fans will let it be known when someone oversteps concerning the music legend.
A red carpet reporter on the Associated Press livestream of Sunday’s Grammy Awards learned that lesson quickly after she interrupted an interview with Edmonds to flag down pop star Chappell Roan.
The backlash from fans was swift and fierce, letting the reporter know she offended the music luminary on the industry’s biggest night.
Leslie Ambriz, alongside Krysta Fauria, greeted Edmonds during AP’s live red carpet show. They discussed how the fires that have ravaged Los Angeles have brought the community together and how music helped the multi-Grammy-winning talent process his emotions.
But as Ambriz asked Edmonds about the rising trend of artists bending genres with their music, her co-host Fauria began screaming at Chappell Roan to get her attention.
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Singer-songwriter-producer Babyface has 12 Grammy Awards and 54 nominations.
Chappell Roan won her first Grammy Sunday, as Best New Artist, and was a nominee in several other categories, including song, record and album of the year.
Babyface encouraged the reporters to chat with the “Hot to Go!” artist.
“You guys want to do that?” he asked, handing back the microphone. “Go do that.”
“I’m so sorry, Babyface,” Ambriz offered before the women launched into a convo with Roan.
Who is Babyface?
The North Central High School grad won the Grammy for Producer of the Year every year from 1996 through 1998, has produced or written for Whitney Houston (“I’m Your Baby Tonight”), Madonna (“Take a Bow”), Eric Clapton (“Change the World”) and Boyz II Men’s (“End of the Road”).He and L.A. Reid co-founded LaFace Records, the label that launched the recording careers of TLC, Toni Braxton, Usher, Outkast and Pink.An epic April 2020 Verzuz battle with Teddy Riley put the artist in front of a new audience and led to 2022’s “Girls Night Out” with an all-women lineup, a la “Waiting to Exhale,” but more collaborative.
He won a Grammy in 2024 as a writer for SZA’s “Snooze.”
Stars defend Babyface
The incident upset a number of people on social media, including Dionne Warwick.
“Am I seeing this correctly?” she posted on X.
Warwick then shared a screenshot of the definition of decorum and tagged AP.
also responded to how the interview with Babyface was handled.
“This is so disrespectful how Babyface was treated in this interview,” she wrote on X along with the clip of the interview. “Babyface has had such a significant impact on the music industry, in sooo many ways. Its maddening to see a LEGEND not get the respect and attention they deserve.”
Kardashian continued: “He is a pioneer and deserves so much better than this. With decades of groundbreaking work as a songwriter, producer, and performer, he’s shaped the sound of multiple generations.”
AP reporter apologizes to Babyface after interview mishap
Fauria apologized at the end of AP’s red carpet broadcast.
“I wanted to say that I’m really sorry about interrupting Babyface earlier,” Fauria said. “Chappell Roan had come up, and there was a lot of commotion, as there is on these carpets. But I’m a big Babyface fan, as are we all. And so I just wanted to say that, that I really apologize.”
How Babyface responded to the red carpet diss
Edmonds chose to focus on the bright spots of the evening.
“The best part of the night was reconnecting with old friends, meeting new artists, and feeling all the love in the room,” Edmonds said in a statement emailed Sunday to USA TODAY by representative Ernest Dukes. “That’s what I’ll remember. That’s what it’s really about. Music is bigger than any one moment. Much love to everyone who won and everyone out here making great music.”
Associated Press apologizes to Babyface
On Monday morning, the AP also expressed regret for the interaction.
“We are deeply sorry for cutting our interview with Babyface short on our YouTube livestream of the Grammys red carpet,” the news cooperative posted on Instagram. “We have apologized to him through his representative and to our viewers on the livestream.”
Anita Baker vs. Babyface
It wasn’t the first time Babyface’s fans came to his defense in being snubbed.
In 2023 music lovers took Anita Baker to task when she kicked Edmonds off of her tour.
Babyface at the time posted on social media that he had “nothing but love & respect for Anita.”
Babyface vs Anita Baker:Fans react to ‘beef’
On social media, Baker said her decision was due to cyberbullying, abuse and threats from Babyface fans after Baker cut him from a New Jersey performance due to time constraints.
Contact IndyStar reporter Cheryl V. Jackson at [email protected] or 317-444-6264. Follow her on X:@cherylvjackson, or Bluesky: @cherylvjackson.bsky.social.
