Singer Chris Brown pleaded guilty Saturday to assaulting a music producer at a London nightclub in 2023, hours before performing a show in Nashville. Brown, 37, had been facing trial for allegedly hitting a former friend twice in the head at the Tape private members' club in Mayfair.
A charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm against the victim, Abraham Diaw, was dropped. Two charges of possessing an offensive weapon and attempting to cause grievous bodily harm were also dismissed. Brown's vocal coach, Omololu Akinlolu, 40, pleaded guilty to affray in connection with the same incident.
During a court hearing at Southwark Crown Court, prosecutor Heidi Stonecliffe KC applied to add a charge of affray, which was accepted by all parties. A court clerk read the charge alleging that Brown and Akinlolu "used or threatened unlawful violence towards another and their conduct taken together was such as would cause a person of reasonable firmness present at the scene to fear for his personal safety." Both men entered guilty pleas.
Detective Constable Zara Ripamonti of the Metropolitan Police Service described the incident as a "disgraceful, unprovoked assault that put a man in hospital." Claire Campbell, senior Crown prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service in London, stated that the attack was "vicious and unprovoked" and that the service would "work tirelessly… to pursue cases like this, and prove that no one is above the law."
Judge Tony Baumgartner granted bail for both Brown and Akinlolu, with sentencing scheduled for October 26. The judge's bail conditions permit Brown to leave the UK but require him to return by October 25, the day before his sentencing.
At earlier hearings, Brown was ordered to pay a £5 million security fee as part of his bail conditions. These conditions also allowed him to embark on a world tour, provided he surrendered his passport upon arrival in each country.
Despite the legal proceedings, Brown's Saturday performance in Nashville, which featured a cameo by Usher, included suggestive choreography. This event occurred on the same day as his guilty plea. Brown has a prior conviction for assaulting his former girlfriend, pop star Rihanna, in 2009.
