Chris Brown has avoided immediate imprisonment after striking music producer Abraham Diaw with a heavy tequila bottle during a fight at a crowded London nightclub.
The 37-year-old Grammy-winning singer was sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for 12 months, over the attack at Tape, an exclusive private members’ club in Mayfair. The assault took place shortly after 3am, before Brown followed Mr Diaw into a corridor.
Brown’s friend and vocal coach, 40-year-old Omololu Akinlolu, was sentenced to four months in prison, also suspended for 12 months, after punching and kicking Mr Diaw during the confrontation. Both men were ordered to pay £1,500 towards costs.
The pair pleaded guilty to affray at Southwark Crown Court in July, after prosecutors agreed not to pursue more serious charges that they had denied.
During Brown’s sentencing, Judge Baumgartenr told him that his successful music career did not qualify him for “special treatment”.
The judge said: “The repeated use of a glass bottle in that way, especially aimed at the head, was plainly dangerous. It carried the risk of delivering a more serious injury than was ultimately sustained.”
However, the judge took into account Brown’s family responsibilities, as well as evidence of his charitable activities and contributions.
The public gallery was packed for the hearing, with spectators watching as prosecutors played CCTV footage showing the nightclub attack from multiple angles.
Chris Brown arrives at Southwark Crown Court for sentencing over his bottle attack on a music producer
The Grammy Award-winning singer admitted affray following the clash at a Mayfair nightclub
A court sketch shows Chris Brown, left, alongside co-defendant Omololu Akinlolu
Coloured circles helped the court track the movements of the three men through the crowded venue. Brown was marked in green, Akinlolu in pink and Mr Diaw in blue.
Heidi Stonecliffe KC, prosecuting, said Mr Diaw had been standing with his back to the bar and facing the VIP lounge when Brown moved towards him through the crowd, followed by Akinlolu.
The footage showed Brown raising his right hand above his head while holding what the prosecutor described as a “heavy, square-shaped tequila bottle”.
He then brought the bottle down twice onto the left side of Mr Diaw’s head.
Brown grabbed the producer before lifting the bottle a third time and striking him on the shoulder as Mr Diaw tried to turn away.
The singer raised the bottle for a fourth strike and hit Mr Diaw again, the court heard.
Akinlolu was seen punching alongside Brown as Mr Diaw was struck by both men and by the bottle.
The violence began on the nightclub’s main floor before Mr Diaw was chased into a corridor leading towards a recording studio and the exit.
In one CCTV clip, Brown was shown being physically pulled away while Mr Diaw was taken through a door leading into the studio.
But the court heard Brown could still see the producer and tried to push past the person restraining him to get back towards Mr Diaw.
His mouth could then be seen moving as he appeared to shout or say something in the producer’s direction.
Omololu Akinlolu, Brown’s friend and vocal coach who joined in the attack, also arriving at court
Brown was greeted by a small number of fans who had gathered outside Southwark Crown Court
Akinlolu then grabbed Mr Diaw and continued throwing punches before putting him in a ‘bear hug’, causing him to fall to the ground.
Ms Stonecliffe told the court: ‘Mr Diaw falls to the ground and Mr Brown is also seen throwing punches.’
Other people became involved as the producer lay on the floor.
The footage showed a foot kicking out towards Mr Diaw’s stomach, which prosecutors asserted belonged to Akinlolu.
He was then kicked twice more before a third kick was aimed at his left leg, which was bent at an angle beneath him.
The entire burst of violence lasted between 17 and 20 seconds.
Brown had to be physically pulled away from the confrontation and was filmed attempting to get past the person holding him back.
The violence unfolded in front of members of the public inside the crowded nightclub in Hanover Square on February 19, 2023.
Chris Brown, pictured here performing in Nashville in July, has been sentenced for attacking a music producer
Police have previously said CCTV showed Mr Diaw being struck with the bottle, punched in the back of the head, chased, pushed to the floor and kicked.
Mr Diaw was taken to St Mary’s Hospital suffering from head trauma, tenderness to his abdomen and pain and restricted movement in his left knee.
He underwent CT scans and X-rays but no fracture, break or acute traumatic injury was detected.
He was discharged that evening with painkillers and diagnoses of a head injury and a superficial injury to his knee.
The court heard that Mr Diaw later sought further treatment while in Italy because his knee remained painful and was hot to the touch.
An MRI scan conducted in early March found a high-grade injury to the ligament on the inner side of his left knee.
A medical expert was unable to give a firm prognosis, but said injuries of that nature would require rehabilitation over time.
The court was told Mr Diaw later withdrew his support for the prosecution after the two defendants had been outside Britain for some time.
Brown and Akinlolu left the country following the incident because of tour commitments.
Detectives said both men were subsequently offered repeated opportunities to attend voluntary interviews under caution but failed to do so, after which they were circulated as wanted.
Brown eventually returned to Britain more than two years later ahead of his Breezy Bowl XX world tour.
He was arrested by Metropolitan Police detectives at the five-star Lowry hotel in Salford in the early hours of May 15, 2025, after arriving in Manchester by private jet.
Akinlolu was also arrested in Manchester.
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The court heard that both men made no reply when cautioned and gave ‘no comment’ answers during their police interviews.
Brown was initially refused bail and remanded in custody. He spent six days at Forest Bank prison before a judge granted him bail on condition that £5million was lodged with the court as security.
The financial guarantee consisted of an initial £4million payment and a further £1million due within seven days. It could have been forfeited if the singer failed to return to court.
His bail conditions allowed him to continue touring Europe and North America, although his passport had to be controlled under arrangements approved by the court.
He was also ordered to live at a specified address, stay away from Tape and have no contact with Mr Diaw.
After leaving prison, Brown posted an all-capitals message on Instagram reading: ‘FROM THE CAGE TO THE STAGE!!! BREEZYBOWL.’
Brown and Akinlolu denied attempted grievous bodily harm and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
Brown also denied possessing an offensive weapon, namely the bottle.
But on July 24 this year, prosecutor Ms Stonecliffe applied for an additional affray charge to be placed on the indictment after an agreement was reached between the parties.
Both men pleaded guilty to that offence and prosecutors said the remaining charges would not proceed.
Judge Tony Baumgartner warned them at the time that ‘all options’ would remain open to the sentencing court. Affray carries a maximum sentence of three years’ imprisonment.
At today’s hearing, the prosecution placed Brown in the highest culpability bracket, category A, because of his leading role and use of the bottle.
Akinlolu was assessed as having category B culpability. The defence teams did not dispute those assessments.
The harm caused by the incident was placed in category two, with the court told the violence had taken place in a crowded nightclub in front of members of the public.
Defending Brown, Sallie Bennett-Jenkins KC accepted that the CCTV depicted an ‘ugly and unattractive incident’.
She said: ‘It is, however, an incident which was very short-lived, lasting something more than 17 seconds but no more than 20.
‘It is something which undoubtedly would have caused distress to those who were present and for which Mr Brown offers a profound apology to all those present.’
Ms Bennett-Jenkins said Brown had accepted responsibility through his guilty plea and was grateful for the opportunity to do so.
She stressed that Mr Diaw had not suffered a fracture, an acute traumatic injury or any break to the skin, although she insisted the defence was not seeking to undermine the injuries he did sustain.
The absence of more serious injuries, she argued, should lead the court to conclude that a comparatively low level of force had been used.
She also pointed out that no such injuries had been identified in CT scans or X-rays carried out at St Mary’s Hospital and that the ligament damage was detected later.
Brown’s lawyers described the singer as a ‘dedicated, loyal and loving father’ to four children, whose ages range from six months to 12 years.
The court heard that the mothers of his children had submitted references setting out his positive qualities and describing the emotional and financial support he provided.
Ms Bennett-Jenkins said Brown carried out ordinary parental duties, including school runs when his schedule allowed, watching his children play sport and encouraging them in their academic lives.
She said the singer had complied with the ‘stringent’ terms of his bail on every occasion since his release in May last year, including when he was permitted to return to the United States.
Brown was described as being ‘utterly dedicated’ to a recording career he had built through years of work and as someone who frequently undertook punishing schedules for his fans.
His barrister argued that curtailing his ability to work could also threaten the livelihoods of 260 people employed in different roles connected with his professional activities.
The court heard that Brown has previous convictions for two violent offences, in 2009 and 2013.
His defence described the earlier matters as incidents committed when he was young which were ‘short and isolated’ and deeply regretted.
In 2009, Brown pleaded guilty to felony assault after attacking his then-girlfriend Rihanna in Los Angeles shortly before the Grammy Awards.
He was sentenced to five years’ probation, 180 days of community labour and a year-long domestic violence counselling programme.
He was also convicted of misdemeanour assault following a confrontation outside the W Hotel in Washington DC in October 2013.
According to the police account at the time, Brown made a homophobic remark before punching a man who had attempted to join a photograph with the singer.
Brown initially denied throwing the punch but pleaded guilty in September 2014 and was sentenced to the two days he had already served in custody, as well as being ordered to pay $150 in court costs.
Ms Bennett-Jenkins argued that Brown had otherwise led a good and law-abiding life in the years before the Mayfair attack.
Akinlolu’s barrister told the court he had no previous convictions and was a man of ‘effective good character’ who had worked in the music industry for more than 20 years.
The court heard that Akinlolu regarded Brown as a brother and genuinely believed the singer was under attack when he intervened.
He had not initially recognised Mr Diaw, his barrister said, but believed at the time that the man posed a risk to Brown and the wider group accompanying him.
A report prepared for the court concluded: ‘Whilst I do not believe he has anger management issues per se, I’m of the belief that this was an isolated incident and Akinlolu acted rashly.
‘He tells me he has learnt a lesson. I believe that Akinlolu appears to have matured since the offence in 2023 and assess his expression of regret and remorse to be genuine.’
Brown arrived at court this morning wearing a black leather jacket over a pale roll-neck, with a black baseball cap, dark glasses and a black face covering. His newly bleached hair could be seen beneath his cap.
Fans had begun queuing outside Southwark Crown Court from about 7am and cheered as he stepped from his car. Some carried merchandise associated with the two-time Grammy winner.
Following the pair’s guilty pleas in July, Claire Campbell, senior crown prosecutor at CPS London South, described the incident as a ‘vicious and unprovoked attack’.
She said Brown had used a glass bottle as a weapon to strike Mr Diaw’s head twice in a crowded nightclub and added that the case showed ‘no one is above the law’.
Brown rose to fame as a teenager in 2005 and is known for hits including Run It!, Loyal and Under the Influence.
He has won two Grammy Awards for best R&B album: the first for F.A.M.E. at the 2012 ceremony and the second for 11:11 (Deluxe) in 2025.
