ALBAWABA - Chris Brown, a Grammy-winning US musician, pleaded guilty to affray on Friday following an altercation in a London nightclub that injured a music producer.
Brown, 37, changed his plea during a hearing at London's Southwark Crown Court. He had previously denied more serious charges for the 2023 altercation.
In exchange for the guilty plea, prosecutors dropped charges of assault, attempting to cause severe bodily harm, and possession of an offensive weapon.
Brown's buddy and vocal coach, Omololu Akinlolu, also pleaded guilty to affray. The two men were scheduled to stand trial in October.
Brown denied attacking Abraham Diaw with a bottle at the Tape nightclub in London's upscale Mayfair neighbourhood in February 2023. However, prosecutors said that the brawl Prosecutors stated that surveillance video captured the brawl in front of a crowded club. on surveillance video in front of a crowded club.
"This was a vicious and unprovoked attack by Brown and Akinlolu in a crowded nightclub, where Brown used a glass bottle as a weapon to strike the victim's head twice," said Claire Campbell, a senior prosecutor with the Crown Prosecution Service, following the guilty plea.
“This kind of violence is entirely unacceptable, and the Crown Prosecution Service will work tirelessly – with the police and partners across the criminal justice system – to pursue cases like this incident and prove that no one is above the law.”
Chris Brown had been released on bail of £5 million ($6.75 million), allowing him to tour Europe and North America last summer. He was released on bail again on Friday and will be sentenced on October 26 for the affray charge, which carries a maximum term of three years in prison.
Chris Brown, dressed in a tan suit, gold-rimmed sunglasses, and a St Louis Cardinals baseball cap, signed autographs for admirers as he exited the courthouse.
Chris Brown, who rose to prominence as a teenager in 2005, earned his first Grammy for best R&B album in 2011 with "F.A.M.E.". In 2025, he won second place in the same category with "11:11 (Deluxe)."
