I was rushing the kids out the door this morning, toast in one hand and school bags in the other, when my phone lit up with the news. Another day, another reminder that fame offers no shield when the law comes knocking. Chris Brown has finally faced the music over that ugly night in a London nightclub three years ago.
The 37-year-old American singer stood in Southwark Crown Court yesterday and pleaded guilty to affray. His co-defendant, Omololu Akinlolu, who performs as Hoody Baby, did the same. The hearing lasted less than five minutes. Simple as that.
Prosecutors had originally accused Brown of hitting music producer Abraham Diaw twice on the head with a bottle in the early hours of 19 February 2023 at the Tape nightclub in Mayfair. They said the victim was then chased, pushed to the floor and kicked, leaving him with head and knee injuries that needed hospital care. Those more serious charges of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, attempting to cause grievous bodily harm and possessing an offensive weapon have now been dropped.
By pleading guilty to affray, both men have admitted using or threatening unlawful violence towards another person. Their combined conduct, the court heard, would cause any reasonable person to fear for their safety. It is a clear admission that what happened that night was unacceptable.
The system worked as it should
Claire Campbell, senior crown prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service London South, put it plainly.
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. This kind of violence is entirely unacceptable, and the Crown Prosecution Service will work tirelessly – with the police and partners across the criminal justice system – to pursue cases like this, and prove that no one is above the law.
Detective Constable Zara Ripamonti of the Metropolitan Police echoed that view.
