wo reporters found themselves in hot water after cutting off legendary producer Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds mid-sentence during a red-carpet interview at the 2025 Grammys — to instead speak with rising pop star Chappell Roan.
The moment, which quickly went viral on social media platforms, was widely slammed on by fans and celebrities alike.
Even Grammy-winning icon Dionne Warwick weighed in, posting a clip of the incident on X (formerly Twitter) with the caption: “13x Grammy Award winning Kenneth ‘Babyface’ Edmonds? Am I seeing this correctly?”
The clip shows Babyface mid-answer when one of the Associated Press reporters, Leslie Ambriz, suddenly calls out, “Chappell!” — interrupting the conversation entirely.
The 65-year-old music pioneer hands the microphone back and graciously says, “Go do that,” before walking away.
Ambriz and her co-host Krysta Fauria scrambled to recover, with Ambriz offering a quick apology while Fauria immediately turned her attention to Roan. But the damage was done, and social media erupted.
Backlash from Fans and Celebrities
Social media users were quick to share their unimpressed thoughts.
“That was hella rude and unprofessional. Showed no respect to Babyface whatsoever. Horrible interviewers,” tweeted one viewer, with another adding: “Omg he was in the middle of saying something they were so rude for that.”
A third tweeted: “This is disgusting and they really need to be careful who they choose to be interviewers.”
Others highlighted the racial insensitivity given that the blunder took place during Black History Month.
Celebs also weighed in on the situation. Khloé Kardashian was one of many who condemned the incident, calling it “so disrespectful.”
She defended Babyface’s legacy, writing on X: “Babyface has had such a significant impact on the music industry, in sooo many ways. It’s maddening to see a LEGEND not get the respect and attention they deserve. He is a pioneer and deserves so much better than this.”
Actor Eric West didn’t hold back either, blasting the reporters for their handling of the situation.
He wrote: “When you don’t know how to do your job! Babyface is a legend! 40 years strong. They should have introduced Babyface to Chappell Roan for a seamless transition. Super easy to say ‘Babyface, have you met Chappell?!’”
Public Apology from Reporters
Realizing the backlash, Fauria took a moment to apologize while still on the red carpet. Standing alongside Ambriz and fellow journalist Gary Gerard Hamilton, she addressed the camera directly.
“I’m really sorry about interrupting Babyface earlier,” she 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, so I just wanted to say that I really apologize.”
Kardashian, however, made it clear that apologies aside, the situation should have been handled differently. “By the way—what a class act you are,” she praised Babyface, before adding some pointed advice for the reporters: “PS big or small, old or new—you don’t treat people like this.
“At least not in my eyes. There’s a way to handle this and this was wrong in my opinion.”
Despite the controversy, Babyface kept it classy, walking away from the awkward moment with the same grace and humility that have defined his decades-long career.
