US Rapper Brown Accused of Hitting Friend Over the Head with Tequila Bottle at London Club

CCTV footage has captured the moment American rapper Chris Brown struck a former friend twice on the head with a tequila bottle at a London nightclub.

Brown, 37, admitted affray earlier this year following the assault on Abraham Diaw at Tape, an exclusive members' club in Mayfair, in February 2023. The attack involved a heavy glass bottle used on the dance floor.

At Southwark Crown Court yesterday, Brown, who is from California, was sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for 12 months.

His vocal coach, Omololu Akinlolu, 40, who also took part in the assault, received a four-month suspended prison sentence, also lasting 12 months. Both men were ordered to pay £1,500 in costs.

Fans travelled from Italy to show their support for Brown, who sat in the dock looking down at the floor for much of the hearing as a packed public gallery watched proceedings.

Sentencing the pair, Judge Tony Baumgartner stressed that celebrity status would not afford them special treatment, stating that "commercial success does not attract preferential treatment" in court.

The judge said: "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."

The court was shown CCTV footage of Brown striking Mr Diaw four times with the bottle. Two blows connected with his head, followed by another strike to his shoulder.

Prosecutor Heidi Stonecliffe KC told the court that Brown had used a "heavy square shaped tequila bottle" to hit Mr Diaw twice on the left side of his head before delivering further blows as the victim turned away.

She said Akinlolu subsequently seized Mr Diaw in a bear hug. "Mr Diaw falls to the ground and Mr Brown is also seen throwing punches," she told the court.

The incident began at approximately 3am and lasted around 20 seconds, prosecutors said.

Mr Diaw was taken to St Mary's Hospital in London, where he was discharged with pain relief after being diagnosed with a head injury and a superficial knee injury.

However, an MRI scan conducted in early March revealed a high-grade injury to a ligament on the inner side of his left knee, the court heard.

Prosecutors alleged that Brown had played a leading role in the assault, a claim he disputed.

Ms Stonecliffe said: "By any circumstances, when one watches that footage, it is Mr Brown that moves first."

Defending Brown, Sallie Bennett-Jenkins KC said her client accepted that he had been involved at the beginning of the incident but did not agree that he had played a leading role in the attack.

Detective Chief Superintendent Christina Jessah, of the Metropolitan Police, condemned the assault and said the authorities would pursue offenders regardless of their public standing.

She said: "This was an inexcusable attack that put a man in hospital. Violence will not be accepted on the streets of London. Regardless of an individual's profile or status, we will pursue those responsible and work tirelessly to bring them before the courts."

Claire Campbell, a senior prosecutor for south London at the Crown Prosecution Service, described the incident as a vicious and unprovoked attack in a crowded nightclub.

She said Brown and Akinlolu had assaulted the victim, with Brown using a glass bottle to strike him twice on the head.

The Johnson Partnership, Nottingham