New York, July 1 Jay-Z thrashed Chris Brown's hopes of returning on stage at the BET Awards, in a bid to pay tribute to late King of Pop Michael Jackson.

Brown has been low-key since beating up his ex-girlfriend (and Jay-Z's artist), Rihanna, earlier this year.

Apparently, Brown was supposed to participate in the Jacko tribute at LA's Shrine Auditorium, but Jay-Z pulled the plug on the plans.

"Jay-Z wasn't having it. He threatened to pull out of the show if Chris was involved, so BET dropped Chris," the New York Post quoted a source as saying.

A representative for Brown said: "That's not true-he was never confirmed to perform."

Brown was close to Jackson and performed 'Thriller' at the World Music Awards in 2006. (ANI)