Chris Brown's appearance in this week's episode of Black-ish attracted many detractors. They asked how an artist with such a checkered past could be let on the show.
Anthony Anderson, the lead actor on Black-ish, sought to assuage fears fans of the show might have had before the episode aired Wednesday night.
"It was great working with Chris," he said. "I've known Chris Brown since he was 14 years old. People are going to be pleasantly surprised when this episode airs."
Despite knowing the 27-year-old singer for so long, Anderson said the "Grass Ain't Greener" crooner didn't reach out to him for a guest spot on the show.
"I had no idea he was going to do our show or that he had an interest in the show," Anderson said. "[Series creator and producer Kenya Barris] was out at dinner one time and Chris saw him and said, 'Hey, I'm a fan of the show and would love to be on an episode.' And this episode came about, and we offered the role to Chris."
Breezy played a controversial recording artist named Rich Youngsta who hires Anderson's character Dre to come up with ad campaign. Dre's wife Bow (Tracee Ellis Ross) and his mother Ruby (Jenifer Lewis) later express discontent over the ad's negative message.