Chris Brown Charged, in Custody for Alleged 2023 Assault

ABLUpdated 3 days Ago3 Mins read3

Will court dates get in the way of his tour dates? On Wednesday, May 14, Chris Brown posted “FREE TORY” on his Instagram Story as a show of support for Tory Lanez, who was recently stabbed in prison while serving a 10-year sentence for shooting Megan Thee Stallion. Less than 24 hours later, Brown was behind bars with his own legal challenges to worry about. After flying into the U.K. ahead of his upcoming world tour, the singer was arrested and charged on Thursday for allegedly beating a man over the head with a bottle at a London nightclub in 2023. A district judge ordered that Brown — who filed a $500 million defamation lawsuit earlier this year over a documentary about his allegedly extensive history of violence — be held in custody without bail until his next court hearing in June. Police have also charged one of Brown’s friends and musical collaborators in connection to the same incident. Here’s what to know.

What was Chris Brown accused of?

Prosecutor Hannah Nicholls has alleged that Brown committed an “unprovoked attack” against producer Amadou “Abe” Diaw at a London nightclub on February 19, 2023. She claimed that after hitting Diaw with a bottle several times, Brown punched and kicked Diaw in an attack captured on surveillance camera. At the time, Brown was on tour in Europe.

In a 2023 lawsuit reviewed by USA Today, Diaw alleged that Brown had “brutally assaulted” him at Tape nightclub, “beating him over the head” with a large bottle of Don Julio tequila and inflicting “severe and lasting” injuries. According to the complaint, Diaw was unconscious on the floor when Brown allegedly began to “stomp” on him for around 30 seconds. The producer claimed that he ended up going to a hospital with “lacerations on his head and torn ligaments in his leg.”

What was Chris Brown charged with?

Metropolitan Police charged the singer with one count of grievous bodily harm with intent, according to a Crown Prosecution Service press release.

Is Chris Brown still in custody?

Yes. On May 16, Brown appeared in Manchester Magistrates’ Court, where Judge Joanne Hirst rejected his bail request. Hirst remanded him into custody until a June 13 plea and trial preparation hearing at London’s Southwark Crown Court, which is a higher court. (Per the BBC, Hirst said Brown’s alleged offense is too serious to be handled by a magistrates’ court.)

Brown, who has yet to publicly address the charge against him, is expected to enter a plea at his June 13 hearing. (Representatives for Brown did not immediately respond to Vulture’s request for comment.) Defense attorney Grace Forbes argued that Brown is not a flight risk and should be released from custody, according to CNN.

Who else was allegedly involved?

Police said on May 17 that rapper HoodyBaby (real name Omololu Akinlolu) has also been charged with grievous bodily harm with intent in connection to the same nightclub incident, Billboard reports.

Akinlolu and Brown befriended each other as teens, and later became musical collaborators. Akinlolu told The Dallas Observer in a 2015 interview that he’s been mistaken for Brown’s bodyguard before, noting that he may “move people around or clear them out” when it comes to his famous friends. “Sometimes people don’t really trust their security and they feel safe with me. I provide a sense of security,” he said at the time. “Nobody’s going to disrespect me or the people who I’m with.”

Was Chris Brown aware that he could be arrested?

It seems likely. Back in 2023, The Sun claimed that Brown left the U.K. after his tour instead of meeting with police about the nightclub incident. “Two men were due to attend a police station for a voluntary interview on March 29 but did not attend,” police said at the time. “Enquiries are ongoing to locate them.” An anonymous source told The Sun, “Chris knows he will be arrested if he goes back to the U.K. but is still doing everything he can to avoid it.”

What does all this mean for Chris Brown’s tour?

No tour dates in Breezy Bowl XX have been officially canceled or postponed yet, but the status is up in the air. Brown’s stadium world tour with Bryson Tiller was scheduled to kick off with a European leg on June 8 in Amsterdam. If he’s still in custody, he will obviously not be able to take the stage for that show or for the next stop in Germany on June 11. He is also scheduled to play a second date in Germany on June 13, the same day as his London hearing. Meanwhile, Summer Walker was set to join a subsequent North American leg of the tour running from July through September.