American singer Chris Brown was spared immediate imprisonment on Monday after a UK court sentenced him for his part in a 2023 fight at a London nightclub.
Southwark Crown Court handed the 37-year-old an eight-month jail term, suspended for a year. He will only be jailed if he commits another offence during that period. Brown arrived at court in a black face mask, sunglasses and a black baseball cap. He had pleaded guilty to affray in July.
“Violence of this kind in a crowded nightclub is serious,” Judge Tony Baumgartner said. “It creates an obvious risk, not merely to the person against whom it is directed, but also to others.
“Prosecutors had accused Brown and co-defendant Omololu Akinlolu, also a US national, of a “vicious and unprovoked attack” at Tape, a private members’ club in London, on February 19, 2023, while Brown was touring Britain. They said Brown struck the victim’s head twice with a glass bottle. The victim was then chased, punched and kicked.
The guilty plea spared Brown a trial on other charges, including attempting to cause grievous bodily harm with intent and possessing a bottle as an offensive weapon. He had earlier denied them.
“This was not planned violence. It was nevertheless serious violence by two people in a crowded nightclub,” the judge said.
Akinlolu, 40, also admitted affray and received a four-month jail term, suspended for a year.Fans cheered Brown loudly as he left court. He later posted an Instagram video of himself giving a thumbs-up from his car.
Brown, who has sold tens of millions of records, has a long record of legal trouble. He was convicted of assaulting then-girlfriend Rihanna before the 2009 Grammy Awards. In 2012, a glass bottle thrown during a clash with Drake’s entourage at a New York nightclub injured French basketball star Tony Parker. Two years later, he pleaded guilty to assaulting a fan in Washington.
