Singer spared jail in London club fight

Chris Brown walked free from London court on Monday after avoiding prison time for a nightclub brawl.

The 37-year-old singer received an eight-month sentence that is suspended for one year.

He pleaded guilty in July to a count of affray for the February 2023 attack.

The incident took place on the dance floor of Tape, a private club in the Mayfair neighborhood.

Brown struck Abraham Diaw, a music producer and former friend, twice in the head with a tequila bottle.

Video shown to the jury captured Brown having to be pulled away from Diaw after the blows landed.

Judge Tony Baumgartner presided over the hearing at Southwark Crown Court.

Baumgartner noted the risk of serious injury from the repeated use of a glass bottle aimed at the head.

The judge cited Brown's guilty plea and stable employment as mitigating factors.

Brown also credited for recent years of a clean criminal record despite previous convictions.

Prosecutors dropped charges of assault, attempting to cause grievous bodily harm, and having an offensive weapon.

His friend and vocal coach Omololu Akinlolu also pleaded guilty to affray and received a four-month suspended sentence. Diaw was discharged from the hospital with head and knee injuries, according to prosecutor Heidi Stonecliffe. Stonecliffe stated that Brown played a leading role in the attack and moved first. Defense lawyer Sallie Bennett-Jenkins described the incident as ugly but lasting no more than 20 seconds. She said Brown offered a profound apology to everyone present in the club that night. The sentencing comes weeks after Brown and Usher canceled a scheduled Oct. 17 performance at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. Organizers cited the health and well-being of the touring company for the cancellation. The tour is set to resume on Nov. 5 in Atlanta. Brown left the United Kingdom after the 2023 brawl but returned for concerts. He was arrested at a Manchester hotel in May 2025 after flying to the city for a show. He had been free on a bail of 5 million pounds, or about $6.7 million, which allowed him to tour Europe and North America over the past two summers. Fans cheered Brown outside the courthouse on Monday. Some traveled from Italy and the Netherlands to see him. Brown wore a black mask, dark glasses, and a black ball cap over his bleached hair. He blew a kiss to one fan and signed an autograph for another. A lone voice shouted at him upon his arrival, asking when he would learn that violence is not OK. Brown rose to stardom as a teen in 2005. He won his first Grammy for best R&B album in 2011 for the record F.A.M.E. He earned his second in the same category in 2025 for 11:11 Deluxe.