Topline
A court ordered Chris Brown, the R&B singer who has faced numerous charges and allegations of assault throughout his career, to remain in custody in the United Kingdom on Friday after police arrested and charged in him in connection with an alleged 2023 nightclub attack.
Brown was previously sued for allegedly attacking a producer in a London nightclub. (Photo by … More
Key Facts
Brown appeared in a U.K. court on Friday morning, where prosecutors accused him of attacking producer Abe Diaw with a bottle and punching him in a London nightclub in 2023, multiple outlets reported.
Manchester Magistrates’ Court ordered Brown to remain in custody, and he is due to appear in Southwark Crown Court in London on June 13—two days before he is scheduled to start a U.K. tour.
London’s Metropolitan Police arrested and charged Brown, 36, with “grievous bodily harm” on Thursday, according to a statement.
Brown was previously sued by music producer Abe Diaw, who alleged Brown smashed a tequila bottle over his head and stomped on him at the Tape nightclub in Hanover Square in February 2023, which led to hospitalization.
Diaw told The Sun on Sunday Brown “hit me over the head two or three times” and “my knee collapsed as well.”
Forbes has reached out to Brown’s lawyers for comment.
What To Watch For
Whether Brown’s reported arrest will impact his upcoming tour. He is slated to embark on the Breezy Bowl XX tour next month in Europe, beginning with concerts in the Netherlands and Denmark. He has nine dates scheduled for the United Kingdom between June and July, beginning with a string of shows in Manchester on June 15.
Key Background
Brown has long faced legal issues and accusations of assault throughout his career, most notably his domestic violence case against his then-girlfriend Rihanna. In 2009, Brown was arrested after an argument with Rihanna turned physical, in which she sustained visible facial injuries, later pleading guilty to felony assault and receiving a sentence of five years probation, domestic violence counseling and community labor. In a documentary nearly a decade later, Brown said the fight made him feel like a “monster” and it would “haunt me forever.” Brown later violated his probation by punching a man in the nose during a 2013 altercation in Washington, D.C., receiving an assault charge. Brown was sent to rehab, where he violated the facility’s internal rules, leading a judge to sentence Brown to jail, where he served nearly three months. Brown has been involved in numerous other alleged altercations, and he faced an additional felony battery charge in 2018 in connection with a 2017 incident, which was later dropped. In the 2024 Warner Bros. documentary “Chris Brown: A History of Violence,” an anonymous woman accused Brown of raping her on a yacht owned by Sean “Diddy” Combs, who is currently on trial for sex trafficking and racketeering. Brown called the accusations “defamatory” and sued Warner Bros. for $500 million in January.
Further Reading
Chris Brown sues Warner Bros over documentary’s sex assault claims (BBC)
