R&B singer Chris Brown reversed his not-guilty plea and pleaded guilty at a hearing in London's Southwark Crown Court on Friday, in the case accusing him of attacking a music producer with a bottle of tequila at nightclub Tape London in February 2023, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing the Associated Press.
The 37-year-old singer was arrested in May 2025 on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm tied to the 2023 incident at a venue in London's Hanover Square. At his arraignment a month later, Brown pleaded not guilty to one count of attempting to unlawfully and maliciously cause grievous bodily harm with intent, along with charges of assault causing actual bodily harm and possessing an offensive weapon, the bottle itself.
In exchange for Friday's guilty plea, prosecutors dropped the assault, attempted-grievous-bodily-harm and offensive-weapon charges. Brown's co-defendant, Omololu Akinlolu, who performs as HoodyBaby and had been charged with causing grievous bodily harm over his own alleged role in the incident, also pleaded guilty the same day. The two men had been set to stand trial in October.
Prosecutors accused Brown of attacking producer Amadou "Abe" Diaw, allegations that echoed a civil lawsuit Diaw filed against Brown in Los Angeles in October 2023, claiming the singer "brutally assaulted" him by "beating him over the head" and then "continued to ruthlessly stomp" on him as he lay unconscious on the nightclub floor. Crown Prosecution Service lawyer Claire Campbell told the court after the plea that the case was meant to help prove "no one is above the law."
Brown is currently on a joint stadium tour with Usher, which has kept expanding since the case wrapped up; MusicSuey has covered the run's growth in Usher and Chris Brown tack on eight more stadium shows to their tour and Chris Brown and Usher grow their R&B tour after a $100 million box office haul. The tour is scheduled to play Inglewood's SoFi Stadium on Sept. 25 and 26.
The facts
- Pleaded guilty at Southwark Crown Court in London on July 24, 2026
- Case stemmed from a February 2023 incident at nightclub Tape London
- Accused of attacking music producer Amadou "Abe" Diaw with a tequila bottle
- Prosecutors dropped charges of assault and attempting to cause grievous bodily harm in exchange for the plea
- Co-defendant Omololu Akinlolu, who performs as HoodyBaby, also pleaded guilty
- Brown is currently on a joint stadium tour with Usher
- Brown was arrested over the case in May 2025 and initially pleaded not guilty a month later
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