Singer's camp denies producers pulled him after Sharpton and Jay-Z complained.

     *Producers of the BET Awards have been roundly criticized on blogs, Twitter, and even Facebook for the show it put on Sunday, but network execs apparently believed that booking Chris Brown would have been disastrous.

      The New York Daily News cites insiders who said producers pulled his performance at the 11th hour because his felony assault wrap for beating Rihanna made him too risky for a night revamped to honor the passing of Michael Jackson.

       One source says Brown’s absence came at the insistence of the Rev. Al Sharpton.      

       “Al made such a fuss to the BET executives that they pulled Chris,” says the insider, who adds that Jay-Z also had a hand in the decision. “Jay is a big name in the BET community, and he was very vocal about his displeasure with Chris attending the ceremony. He didn’t want Chris anywhere near the awards so close to the court’s ruling.”      

       As for Brown's reaction, “He’s furious,” a friend of the singer told the newspaper. “BET asked him to perform and waited until the last minute to tell him it was off. He’s pretty shocked and outraged right now.”       

       Both BET publicists and Brown’s camp deny the allegations and say the singer was never even confirmed for the show. That flies in the face of pre-show reports that Brown was booked specifically to honor Michael Jackson.      

       Meanwhile, Rihanna was not at the Shrine Auditorium Sunday because she was reportedly hanging out with her crush, Orlando Magic forward Rashard Lewis, in New York. A rep for the singer said, “Rihanna was never meant to attend [the BET awards].”      

       As previously reported, Usher was due to take part in the revamped ceremony, but was out of town and sent his regrets in a prepared statement. He attended fashion shows in Paris over the weekend.      

        Also expected at the ceremony was Justin Timberlake, but he was also out of the country, attending both Wimbledon and the Hard Rock Calling concert in London.      

       Both Usher and Timberlake agreed to take part in a later tribute to Jackson on BET.