Babyface Reacts After Grammys Red Carpet Snub, AP Apologizes

After celebs and social media dragged reporters to the aoli abyss for cutting off Babyface mid-sentence at the 2025 Grammys, the Associated Press and the music icon both addressed the incident. 

Source: Frazer Harrison / Getty

We didn’t even have to wait for the Grammys to start for Black legends to get snubbed for other artists because reporters got a headstart on the red carpet with Babyface. In the shocking moment that immediately went viral, reporters Leslie Ambriz and Krysta Fauria interviewed the 13-time Grammy winner. Before he could finish his thoughtful answer about R&B crossovers, Fauria cut him off to call over Chappell Roan.

No shade to the 2025 Best New Artist, but really?! In front of our Black History Month? 

As usual, Babyface remained a class act despite the diss on live TV. “You guys wanna do that? Go do that,” he said before dropping them like a bad habit. That’s as kind as the responses got about the Babyface blunder because no one with any sense or music history would play in his face like that. Thee Kenneth Edmonds has been changing the music game since before those reporters, and Chappell were born, and it shows!

Even if Babyface didn’t earn 54 Grammy nominations and contribute to hundreds of millions of records sold, that was wildly unprofessional to do to anyone.

Celebrities Join Social Media In Dragging The Disrespectful Interview

In addition to Dionne Warwick’s disbelief, Boyz II Men singer Shawn Stockman entered the chat. Khloé Kardashian and Charlie Puth also called out the red carpet recklessness.

“That would never happen in the NFL or the NBA. You would never disrespect Magic Johnson. Because there’s a level of understanding of what those particular human beings brought to that respective profession. But it seems to be the opposite in the music industry. The industry tends to have a really bad habit of doing very disrespectful things to people that should be honored,” Stockman said.

“This is so disrespectful how Babyface was treated in this 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. 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,” she wrote.

“You can’t disrespect one of the most influential songwriters of our time like that. @babyface is ONE of ONE,” Puth wrote on Instagram. “Babyface is the GOAT,” he added with an emoji.

When Ambriz and Fauria initially addressed the situation, they tried to charge it to the game. The correspondents even had the nerve to say they hoped Babyface would come back to finish answering. They tried it!

“It was fast, it was all at once,” one said.

“That’s the nature of the carpet,” the other responded, adding that she hoped to interview him again.

As Ambriz and Fauria wrapped up their coverage with Gary Gerard Hamilton, someone finally got them to try again with an apology.

“I wanted to say that I’m really sorry about, um, interrupting Babyface earlier. 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,” Fauria explained.

Is the “commotion” in the room with us now? It seemed quiet as a church mouse in those clips except for yelling over one of the greatest contributors to modern music.

Check out Babyface and the Associated Press responding to the red carpet controversy after the flip!

Babyface Makes Gracious Grammys Statement After Red Carpet Diss

Source: Earl Gibson III/GG2025 / Getty

The Shade Room reports that Babyface issued a statement after the ridiculously rude red carpet-moment. Instead of lighting them up like the rest of the internet was, he put the focus back on the art that he loves. While those reporters may have been ignorant of the greatness in their presence, the super producer said he’s already moved on.

“The best part of the night was reconnecting with old friends, meeting new artists, and feeling the love in the room. That’s what I’ll remember. Music is bigger than any one moment. Much love to everyone out here making great music,” he said.

The Associated Press Apologizes To Babyface

After furious demands for apologies and even firing Ambriz and Fauria, the Associated Press apologized publicly after reaching out to his rep.

“We are deeply sorry for cutting our interview with Babyface short on our YouTube livestream of the Grammys red carpet. We have apologized to him through his representative and to our viewers on the live stream,” the statement saiid.

While social media is still dragging the audacity of caucacity at play, one comment clocked that someone off-camera instigated the incident. It’s unclear whether that melantated hand reaching out to repeatedly tap Fauria belongs to a producer or Hamilton, but sometimes it’s your own people. SMH.