US singer Chris Brown was given an eight-month prison sentence suspended for 12 months on Monday after pleading guilty to affray over an attack at a London nightclub in 2023.
The 37-year-old and his co-defendant, vocal coach Omololu Akinlolu, 40, appeared at Southwark Crown Court. Akinlolu received a four-month sentence, also suspended for a year.
The incident took place in the early hours of February 19, 2023, in the VIP area of Tape nightclub in Mayfair. Music producer Abe Diaw required hospital treatment for head and knee injuries.
CCTV footage shown to the court captured Brown striking Diaw with a tequila bottle, including blows to the head. Judge Tony Baumgartner described the “repeated use” of the bottle as “plainly dangerous” and said it carried the risk of causing significantly more serious injury than was ultimately sustained.
The judge noted that the entire episode lasted no more than 20 seconds and was not planned, but characterised the violence as “intense”. He said both defendants pursued Diaw after he tried to move away in a crowded and confined space.
Baumgartner told Brown he was not entitled to special treatment because of his “fame, commercial success, and professional standing”. He took into account Brown’s previous convictions involving violence, which he described as relevant but “now old”, as well as the singer’s status as a father of four, his charitable activities and a pre-sentence report assessing his risk of further offending as low.
Akinlolu’s role was deemed “significant” though he neither initiated the violence nor used a bottle. His actions consisted of punches and a kick while Diaw was on the ground.
Both men must each pay £1,500 towards the prosecution’s costs. The judge emphasised that a suspended sentence order “is a custodial sentence” and constitutes a punishment.
Brown left court to cheers from fans, stopping briefly to sign an autograph before departing in a vehicle.
