American R&B singer Chris Brown has received an eight-month prison sentence over an attack on music producer Abe Diaw at a London nightclub in 2023. However, the sentence was suspended for 12 months, meaning the 37-year-old will not go to prison immediately.
Southwark Crown Court handed down the sentence on Monday, October 26, 2026, after Brown pleaded guilty to affray in July over the incident at Tape nightclub in Mayfair, London, on February 19, 2023.
Judge Tony Baumgartner said CCTV footage showed Brown hitting Diaw twice with a tequila bottle, striking his shoulder and attempting a fourth blow.
“The repeated use of a glass bottle in that way… was plainly dangerous,” the judge said, warning that the attack could have caused more serious injuries.
Diaw received hospital treatment for head trauma, tenderness around his neck and abdomen, and reduced movement in his left knee.
Although the judge described the incident as brief, he said the violence was intense and Brown played a leading role. He also considered the singer’s previous violent convictions from 2009 and 2013, noting that they were relatively old.
Baumgartner stressed that Brown’s fame, commercial success and professional standing did not qualify him for special treatment.
Brown’s vocal coach, 40-year-old rapper Omololu Akinlolu, also pleaded guilty to affray and received a four-month prison sentence suspended for 12 months. The judge said Akinlolu did not start the violence but punched and kicked Diaw while he was on the ground.
More serious charges against both men, including assault and attempting to cause grievous bodily harm, were dropped after their guilty pleas.
