London (AFP) — American R&B singer Chris Brown on Friday pleaded guilty to a public order offence during a brawl at a London nightclub in 2023, allowing him to avoid a UK trial.
“Guilty,” replied Brown, 37, dressed in a beige suit and dark brown tie, after the charge of affray was put to him as he stood in the dock at Southwark Crown Court in London.
Rihanna’s former boyfriend, who has sold tens of millions of records worldwide, will now not face trial on several other charges.
They had included attempting to cause grievous bodily harm with intent and possession of an offensive weapon, namely a bottle, in connection with the incident.
Those charges, which he had denied at earlier hearings, will be dropped at a later date, the prosecutor said.
Under the new charge, Brown admitted to using or threatening unlawful violence that would have led others to fear for their personal safety, according to an indictment.
Arriving at court before the hearing, Brown was greeted by a small group of fans.
He was flanked by security guards and sported gold-rimmed sunglasses and a St Louis Cardinals baseball hat.
Brown appeared in the dock on Friday with co-defendant Omololu Akinlolu, 40, also a US national.
Brown, who had a troubled relationship with superstar singer Rihanna, will now be sentenced on October 26. Under English law, the penalties for affray run from a fine to up to three years in prison.
“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,” prosecutor Claire Campbell told a previous hearing.
The star, who has been on £5.0 million ($6.7 million) bail, spent nearly a week in jail in May 2025 before being released.
Police had arrested him at a five-star hotel in the northwestern English city of Manchester hours after he reportedly flew in by private jet.
But Judge Tony Baumgartner last year gave him the green light to continue a scheduled tour which had begun in June in Amsterdam.
Bail granted
The charges all related to the same alleged incident at Tape, an exclusive private members’ club in London’s Hanover Square, on February 19, 2023, while Brown was touring in the UK.
The victim was allegedly struck several times with a bottle before being pursued, punched and kicked.
The singer is known for mid-2000s hits such as “Kiss, Kiss”, as well as a litany of legal troubles including a felony conviction for assaulting then-girlfriend Rihanna in 2009.
Brown rose from a local church choir in Virginia to sudden fame with his rich R&B voice before turning to rap, but his reputation has been tarnished by allegations of domestic violence and other abuse.
In 2012, Brown was involved in an altercation at a New York nightclub with members of hip hop star Drake’s entourage, during which French basketball player Tony Parker suffered an eye injury after being hit by a thrown glass bottle.
Two years later, Brown pleaded guilty to assaulting a fan in Washington.
Akinlolu also pleaded guilty to affray. Both men will be sentenced in London on the same date.
Brown was released again on bail ahead of the sentencing hearing.