Chris Brown Pleads Guilty to Affray Over Nightclub Incident

Chris Brown is not affray-ed to admit to comparatively minor faults. The controversial R&B star pleaded guilty to affray in the case of a 2023 nightclub incident, per BBC News. Originally, he’d been scheduled for a trial in October that would include more intense charges: attempting to cause grievous bodily harm, causing actual bodily harm, and having an offensive weapon. (The offensive weapon was a tequila bottle.) Those charges have now been dropped in favor of affray, which means he either used or threatened to use violence and made someone fear for their safety.

The incident occurred in Tape nightclub in the Mayfair neighborhood of London in February 2023. Prosecutor Hannah Nicholls accused Brown of hitting producer Amadou “Abe” Diaw with a tequila bottle several times, then punching and kicking him. In a 2023 lawsuit against Brown by Diaw, the victim claims he ended up in the hospital with “lacerations on his head and torn ligaments in his leg.” The attack was seen on surveillance cameras. Last June, Brown pleaded not guilty. With Brown’s change of plea also comes his co-defendant, rapper HoodyBaby, real name Omololu Akinlolu, who is now also pleading guilty to affray. Both men will be sentenced for this charge on October 26. In the meantime, Brown will continue his U.S. tour with Usher.