American singer Chris Brown and his Nigerian vocal coach, Omololu Akinlolu, have pleaded guilty to affray in a London nightclub incident in 2023, risking three years in jail under the UK law.
The duo on Friday appeared before London’s Southwark Crown Court, where they pleaded guilty to the brawl prosecutors described as “a vicious and unprovoked attack.”
Both Messrs Brown and Akinlolu admitted before the court that they “used or threatened unlawful violence towards another and their conduct taken together was such as would cause a person of reasonable firmness … to fear for his or her personal safety,” before the court.
According to the police, CCTV footage showed Mr Brown hit the victim on the head with a glass bottle several times, and the man was then chased, pushed to the floor, and kicked.
The charges of assault, attempting to cause grievous bodily harm, and having an offensive weapon – a tequila bottle – which Mr Brown denied, were dropped.
However, the musician will be sentenced for the charge to which he pleaded guilty in October.
Under UK law, affray is a criminal offence defined as using or threatening unlawful violence towards other people. It is punishable by up to three years in prison under the UK law.
“This was a disgraceful, unprovoked assault that put a man in hospital. There is no place for serious violence like this in London, and I’m pleased these men accepted what they did wasn’t just completely unacceptable but criminal,” Detective Con Zara Ripamonti of the Metropolitan Police said.
He added, “This has been a long investigation, and we’ve worked with police colleagues in the UK to bring these two men to justice.”