The Coldplay frontman is very "proud" that 15-year-old Apple - his eldest child with ex-wife Gwyneth Paltrow - has landed her first job. So he thought it would be nice to visit the store where she is a cashier.
However, the teenager was unimpressed when she saw her dad waiting by her till and ordered him to go - and he was too "scared" of her not to respect her wishes.
Chris - who also has 13-year-old Moses with Gwyneth - said: "My daughter works in a clothing store, it's her first job and I'm so proud of her, she's making her way in the world.
"I went to surprise her... Not surprise her, I went to see her, and I thought I'd better buy something.
"I took a T-shirt from the rack and lined up in the queue. She was at the checkout, there were two, and she saw me and went like this (mouths) 'Dad get out'.
"I felt terrible, so I moved to the other line, holding the t-shirt and being scared of my daughter."
But despite her horror at seeing the singer at her workplace, it seemed Apple appreciated the gesture.
Chris added in an interview with Ellen DeGeneres: "I'd brought her some fudge so I said to the lady, 'Can you just give her this?' And as I was leaving, she shouted, 'I love you dad.'"
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The 42-year-old singer also shared a story of his own embarrassment after Ellen played the trailer for the upcoming horror sequel 'A Quiet Place 2'.
He admitted that after the release of the first movie, he'd sent its lead actress Emily Blunt and her husband - the film's writer and her co-star John Krasinski - a spoof idea for a musical adaptation.
But his gag fell flat when they ignored his pitch.
He said: "When A Quiet Place came out, I had an idea for a joke afterwards so I sent Emily Blunt and her husband this idea for a musical of A Quiet Place and it was just me (miming the piano). They never replied.
"Every time I see that trailer, it makes me feel sick because they must have thought I was taking the mickey. I wasn't, it was genuine, I loved the movie."