By Sam Tobin
LONDON, Oct 26 (Reuters) – US singer Chris Brown was spared an immediate prison sentence in Britain on Monday for attacking a music producer with a tequila bottle in a London nightclub in 2023, with his fans cheering as the musician walked free from court.
Brown, 37, was given an eight-month suspended sentence at London’s Southwark Crown Court over the attack on Abraham Diaw at the Tape nightclub in February 2023 that lasted around 20 seconds.
Diaw was hit twice in the head with a bottle, which was then swung twice more at him in what prosecutors described as “a vicious and unprovoked attack”.
The R&B star and his vocal coach Omololu Akinlolu, 40, pleaded guilty to a charge of affray in July, having denied more serious charges of attempting to inflict grievous bodily harm and assault causing actual bodily harm.
NO SPECIAL TREATMENT
Judge Tony Baumgartner said: “This was serious, public violence. In your case, Brown, it involved the repeated use … of a bottle, including twice striking Diaw to his head.”
The judge told Brown: “Your fame, commercial success and professional standing do not entitle you to special treatment – the law applies equally to everyone.”
But Baumgartner said he could suspend Brown’s sentence for 12 months, meaning he will not go to prison unless he commits another offence in that period. Akinlolu was also spared an immediate jail sentence.
“Violence will not be accepted on the streets of London,” Detective Chief Superintendent Christina Jessah from the Metropolitan Police said in a statement. “Regardless of an individual’s profile or status, we will pursue those responsible and work tirelessly to bring them before the courts.”
BROWN’S FANS CHEER SUSPENDED SENTENCE
Brown, winner of Grammy awards for best R&B album in 2011 and 2025, has previously admitted other violent offences in the US, having been charged with assaulting his then-partner, singer Rihanna, in 2009, with a photo of her bruised face making headlines around the world.
Prosecutor Heidi Stonecliffe said Brown pleaded guilty to the 2009 assault of Rihanna and was sentenced to five years’ probation. He also admitted a 2013 assault on a fan he was accused of punching when he asked for a photograph.
Brown remains hugely popular and has sold tens of millions of records worldwide, with dozens of fans queuing outside court from around 0700 GMT, about an hour before the building opened.
His lawyer Sallie Bennett-Jenkins said Brown was profoundly sorry for the incident and described him as “a dedicated, loving and loyal father to four children”.
“This was an ugly and unattractive incident, we would be the first to accept,” she added. “It was, however, an incident that was very short-lived.”
Brown thanked the judge before leaving the dock and nodding towards about two dozen of his supporters in the public gallery.
Other fans who gathered outside the building cheered as Brown left and went into a waiting car.
Brown was arrested in May 2025 having returned to Britain for the first time since the attack and was initially denied bail, throwing his worldwide “Breezy Bowl XX” tour into doubt.
But Brown was eventually released after promising to pay a £5 million ($6.7 million) security fee, allowing the tour to go ahead.
($1 = 0.7487 pounds)
(Reporting by Sam Tobin; Editing by William James and David Holmes)
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