Guests at the GQ Gentlemen’s Ball, which celebrates outstanding charitable men and their causes, raised their eyebrows as they watched Chris Brown chat up honoree Jimmie Briggs in the Edison Ballroom. The pairing drew stares because former journalist Briggs founded Man Up Campaign, a nonprofit to combat violence against women, and Brown last year pleaded guilty to assault against ex-girlfriend Rihanna. Briggs told us, “I found Chris to be very humble, sincere, honest and clear about expressing an interest in working with Man Up or an organization like ours. Chris is a young man, and he made a mistake. Some people may feel or not feel he hasn’t paid his dues, but he’s on a journey. We have to be supportive. My parting words to him were ‘Keep your head up.’ ” Demi Moore, Ashton Kutcher and Jimmy Fallon were also friendly to Brown at the event. Fallon even asked him to return to his late-night talk show, saying, “You can play with the Roots,” referring to his house band.