London: Grammy-winning singer Chris Brown avoided prison time on Monday after being sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for a year, for beating a music producer with a tequila bottle at a London nightclub in February 2023.
Brown, 37, had faced up to three years in prison after pleading guilty in July to one count of affray over the attack on the dance floor of Tape, a private club in the upscale Mayfair neighbourhood.
Affray involves the use or threat of unlawful violence that causes someone to fear for their safety.
Video footage played in court showed Brown being pulled away from his former friend, music producer Abraham Diaw, after striking him twice on the head with a bottle.
“The repeated use of a glass bottle in that way, especially aimed at the head, was plainly dangerous; it carried the risk of delivering a more serious injury than was ultimately sustained,” Judge Tony Baumgartner said.
Despite the seriousness of the attack, Baumgartner said Brown did not warrant an immediate custodial sentence because he had pleaded guilty and there were several mitigating circumstances. The judge acknowledged Brown's previous convictions but said he had maintained a clean record in recent years.
Brown left the United Kingdom after the brawl but was arrested in May 2025 at a Manchester hotel after flying to the city for a concert. He had been released on bail of £5 million ($6.7 million), which allowed him to tour Europe and North America last summer.
Brown rose to stardom as a teenager in 2005 and won his first Grammy for best R&B album in 2011 for ‘F.A.M.E.’ He won his second Grammy in the same category for ‘11:11 (Deluxe)’ in 2025.
He has faced repeated legal trouble since his felony conviction for assaulting his then-girlfriend, Rihanna, in 2009, hours before the pair were due to perform at the Grammys.
He has been arrested in several US states over altercations. In 2019, he was arrested in Paris and questioned on suspicion of rape but was released without charge.
