Chris Brown pleads guilty to affray over 2023 London nightclub attack

US singer Chris Brown pleaded guilty to affray at Southwark Crown Court on 24 July 2026, admitting to a "vicious and unprovoked attack" in a London nightclub in 2023. The 37-year-old R&B star struck music producer Abe Diaw on the head with a glass bottle several times at the Tape venue in Mayfair on 19 February 2023. Co-defendant Omololu Akinlolu, a 40-year-old rapper from Florida known as Hoody Baby, also pleaded guilty to affray. More serious charges of assault, attempted grievous bodily harm, and possession of an offensive weapon were dropped. Affray carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison; sentencing is scheduled for 26 October. Brown was released on bail, allowed to leave the UK but must return by 25 October. He previously paid a £5m security fee and surrendered his passport during his world tour. The Metropolitan Police released a mug shot of Brown. Det Con Zara Ripamonti called the assault "disgraceful" and "unprovoked." Claire Campbell of CPS London South stated that no one is above the law. Brown has a prior conviction for assaulting pop star Rihanna in 2009.