Chris Brown is not interested in a measured response to the criticism of his upcoming tour with Usher. He went straight to Instagram instead.

In a Sunday Instagram Story screed, the 36-year-old singer pushed back hard against women on Instagram and TikTok who have been critical of the joint Raymond & Brown Tour — abbreviated, of course, as the R&B Tour — which kicks off June 26 at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver and concludes in Tampa in December.

"The funniest and weirdest s*** ever to me is the fact that people have the option to come to my tour and option not to," Brown wrote, per Complex. "I know everyone who is a fan of me and USHER will definitely be in the building and it will be PACKED just like last year."

Then he got more pointed. "I'm scrolling through Insta and TikTok, and I come across rage bait pages and or these fake woke stand up for nothing pages bashing people for wanted to come have a good time. The dudes hating, I can understand that (thinking we gone steal ya girl and s***). BUT THE KARENS, and the self-hating hoes be making me LAUGH. I CAN'T WAIT TO RUB THIS S*** IN YALL FACE."

The criticism Brown is dismissing as "rage bait" is rooted in his documented history of violence against women. In 2009, Brown pleaded guilty to felony assault for his 2008 attack on then-girlfriend Rihanna, receiving five years' probation and one year of mandated domestic violence counseling. In 2017, ex-girlfriend Karrueche Tran was granted a five-year restraining order against him after testifying he had threatened her with violence. In 2024, Investigation Discovery aired a docuseries chronicling additional alleged assaults; Brown sued ID's parent company Warner Bros. in January 2025 over the project.

Brown's fans — and Brown himself — have long pointed to his commercial success as evidence that the public has moved past his record. His 2025 Breezy Bowl XX world tour grossed roughly $300 million, his highest-grossing run to date. The R&B Tour is being staged in stadiums.

Usher, 47, is also drawing criticism for partnering on the tour. Radio host and podcaster Peter Rosenberg said on a recent episode of The Ebro Laura Rosenberg Show that Usher should be cautious. "Usher, two weeks ago, said the line about Diddy that didn't come off great, right? And then two weeks later, he's like, 'Screw it. Now I'm going on tour with Chris Brown.' Let's just be mindful of the brand here, Usher. I hope Chris Brown has appreciation for Usher doing this."

The two have a long collaborative history — including the song "New Flame" — but it has not been entirely smooth. In May 2023, TMZ reported the two were involved in a physical altercation at Brown's 34th birthday party in Las Vegas, after which Usher was photographed with what appeared to be a bloody nose. They later reconciled and performed together at Usher's Lovers & Friends festival.

In an April 2023 interview with BigBoyTV, Usher had said of a future collaboration: "I love Chris. I don't like his music — I love his music [and] I love him. He's my little brother, and he's always been there for me, and I've always been there with him."