Who is the Love Island star who was on stage in Manchester with Chris Brown during controversy?

Chris Brown has been travelling the UK and Europe for his ‘Under the Influence’ tour over the past few weeks, but now the Give Me Everything singer has come ‘under fire’ after some controversial moments on stage.

A segment that has become a staple of Chris Brown’s shows in London, Glasgow and Dublin is when the singer invites a lady on stage to sit in a chair while he dances around and serenades her.

Brown continued to invite an audience member on stage in both Manchester and Berlin, but fans became furious when he took it too far to make it ‘uncomfortable’ and ‘hideous’ by wrapping his hand around the ladies’ throats.

Former Love Island contestant Natalia Zoppa was taken on stage on Thursday night in Manchester when Chris grabbed her by the throat for almost six seconds, with people rushing to Twitter to not only condemn Brown’s actions but also to sell their tickets for his upcoming shows.

One said, “This is so unpleasant to watch. Even the fact that she’s on a stage with him doesn’t stop her obvious discomfort,” while another watcher agreed: “This is so disturbing. A man with a history of DV, sitting a fan on stage, grabbing her around the neck then thrusting in her face.”

The fury comes amid Chris Brown’s history with domestic violence after he assaulted his then-girlfriend Rihanna in 2009, in turn sending her to the hospital.

Before Brown invited the Love Island star on stage in Manchester, he berated his critics for the backlash around his history with Rihanna suggesting he was getting ‘tired’ of hearing about it.

The lap dance first became controversial last week when Brown not only grabbed a fan by the throat in Berlin but also threw her phone into the audience when she was not paying attention to his performance.

In light of Chris Brown’s controversial lap dance, PeopleWorld takes a look at who Natalia Zoppa is:

Natalia Zoppa is a 23-year-old social media influencer, model and reality star from Manchester who rose to prominence from Love Island’s first winter series in 2020.

Born on 5 July 1999, Natalia entered the Love Island villa during Casa Amor and coupled up with Justin Bieber look-a-like Luke Mabbott before moving on to the new bombshell Jamie Clayton. 

Although Natalia was dumped from the Cape Town Villa on day 38, she grew a significant following (281,000 followers on Instagram) and now makes a living from OnlyFans like other Love Islanders such as Megan Barton-Hanson and Hannah Elizabeth.

Manchester City’s Jack Grealish reportedly slid into Natalia’s DMs at the start of last year, with Natalia’s boyfriend at the time businessman Hass Saleh, making fun in a TikTok video. 

Natalia and Hass were together for a long period of time before calling it quits not too long after Jack messaged the former Love Islander. They reportedly got back together in May 2022 when they were seen at Thorpe Parke’s Mardi Gras event but have now removed all trace of each other on social media.