Chris Brown pleads guilty to affray over London nightclub brawl

Grammy-winning American singer Chris Brown, 37, entered a guilty plea to affray during a hearing at Southwark Crown Court in London on Friday. The plea resolves the case stemming from a February 2023 incident at the Tape nightclub in Mayfair, where a music producer was injured. In exchange for the plea, prosecutors dropped more serious charges of assault, attempted grievous bodily harm and possession of an offensive weapon.

Brown’s friend and vocal coach, Omololu Akinlolu, also pleaded guilty to affray. Both men had been scheduled for trial in October. Surveillance footage captured the confrontation, which prosecutors said involved Brown striking the victim with a glass bottle.

"This was a vicious and unprovoked attack by Brown and Akinlolu in a crowded nightclub where Brown used a glass bottle as a weapon to strike the victim’s head twice," senior Crown Prosecution Service prosecutor Claire Campbell said after the plea.

Brown was released on bail of £5 million and will remain free pending a sentencing hearing set for October 26. The affray charge carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison. After leaving the court, Brown signed autographs for fans while wearing a tan suit, gold-rimmed sunglasses and a St. Louis Cardinals baseball cap.