LONDON — Two-time Grammy Award-winning singer Chris Brown avoided prison time on Monday when he was given an eight-month suspended sentence for his actions in a bar brawl three years ago.
Brown, 37, pleaded guilty in July at London’s Southwark Crown Court to a charge of affray, the BBC reported. He was accused of attacking a producer with a tequila bottle in a London nightclub in February 2023.
According to The Associated Press, affray is defined as the use or threat of unlawful violence that leads someone to fear for their safety.
The victim, music producer Abe Diaw, needed hospital treatment for head and knee injuries he received at Tape, a private club in the Mayfair neighborhood of London, according to the AP.
Brown had faced up to three years in prison after pleading guilty, the news organization reported.
Brown’s co-defendant and vocal coach, Omololu Akinlolu, received a four-month suspended sentence, the BBC reported.
“These sentences are the shortest custodial sentences which in my judgment are commensurate with the seriousness of your respective offenses, Judge Tony Baumgartner said, according to the news outlet. “Each sentence is one of 12 months or less -- by law I am required to suspend each custodial sentence unless you are an excluded offender or I am satisfied that exceptional circumstances relating to the offense or the offender justify an immediate custodial sentence.”
After the victim was hospitalized, a warrant was issued for Brown and Akinlolu’s arrest, Variety reported. Both had left the country, but Brown was arrested in May 2025 when he returned to the United Kingdom as part of his world tour to perform in Manchester.
Brown wore a baseball cap, sunglasses and a face covering as he left the court, the BBC reported. He walked through a crowd of people outside and stopped to sign an autograph, according to the news outlet.