Key facts
- Chris Brown pleaded guilty to affray in London.
- The charge stems from a 2023 nightclub incident.
- More serious charges of attempted grievous bodily harm and assault causing actual bodily harm were dropped.
- Brown and co-defendant Omololu Akinlolu will be sentenced on October 26, 2026.
U.S. singer Chris Brown pleaded guilty to a charge of affray stemming from an incident at a London nightclub in 2023. The charge alleges that Brown and his co-defendant, Omololu Akinlolu, used or threatened unlawful violence. More serious charges of attempting to inflict grievous bodily harm and assault causing actual bodily harm, which both men had denied, will not proceed to trial. Prosecutors stated that security footage allegedly showed Brown striking music producer Abraham Diaw with a tequila bottle and then punching and kicking him. Diaw has filed a civil suit seeking damages for alleged injuries. Brown has denied assault claims. Brown was arrested in May 2025 at a Manchester hotel on a 2023 warrant and later released on bail. His legal team has challenged the allegations. The trial for the assault and weapons charges was tentatively set for October 26, 2026. This legal entanglement adds to Brown's history of legal issues, including a 2009 guilty plea for felony assault involving Rihanna.