[Video] Chris Brown breaks down, can’t finish Jackson tribute at BET Awards

In the clip below, Chris Brown becomes very emotional towards the end of a Michael Jackson tribute at the BET Awards.

Brown, who has struggled professionally since the whole Rihanna beat-down incident, has not performed at such a high-profile level since his arrest. The LA Times speculates that he may have been putting it on for sympathy:

Chris Brown’s performance at the BET Awards was his first major music gig in a long time. He was picked to perform because he’s widely considered to be a protégé of Michael Jackson’s and there was enormous curiosity over how he’d do — and be greeted by the audience — when he took the stage. If his career is truly over, he might not get a chance like this again to gain sympathetic attention.

What do you think? Was Brown truly grief-stricken, or trying to show a soft, woman-beatingless side?