Chris Brown pleads guilty to affray over nightclub attack in London

Watch: US singer Chris Brown arrives at Southwark Crown Court in London

US singer Chris Brown has pleaded guilty to affray over what prosecutors called "a vicious and unprovoked attack" in a London nightclub in 2023.

Police said CCTV showed that Brown, one of the world's biggest R&B stars, hit the victim on the head with a glass bottle several times, and that the man was then chased, pushed to the floor and kicked.

The 37-year-old star had been due to face a trial on more serious charges, which he denied - assault, attempting to cause grievous bodily harm, and having an offensive weapon, namely a tequila bottle. However, those charges have now been dropped.

Affray, which is defined as using or threatening violence towards someone and making them fear for their safety, is punishable by up to three years in jail. Brown will be sentenced in October.

Chris Brown (left) and co-defendant Omololu Akinlolu pictured in a court sketch at a hearing earlier this month

Brown's vocal coach, 40-year-old Omololu Akinlolu, a rapper from Florida who performs under the name Hoody Baby, also pleaded guilty to affray and had assault and attempted grievous bodily harm charges dropped.

Det Con Zara Ripamonti of the Metropolitan Police said: "This was a disgraceful, unprovoked assault that put a man in hospital.

"There is no place for serious violence like this in the London and I'm pleased these men accepted what they did wasn't just completely unacceptable - but criminal.

"This has been a long investigation and we've worked with police colleagues in the UK to bring these two men to justice."

Brown shook hands with fans and signed autographs outside court after Friday's hearing

The attack happened at the Tape venue, a private members' club in Mayfair, in the early hours of 19 February 2023.

Prosecutors said Brown approached the victim from the dance floor then struck him over the head with a bottle, and Akinlolu joined Brown and punched the victim in the head.

"They continued their assault whilst the victim attempted to flee through the club," the Crown Prosecution Service said in a statement. "The victim was kicked while he was seated defenceless on the floor."

The victim, music producer Abe Diaw, needed hospital treatment for head and knee injuries.

Claire Campbell, senior crown prosecutor in CPS London South, said: "This was a vicious and unprovoked attack by Brown and Akinlolu in a crowded nightclub where Brown used a glass bottle as a weapon to strike the victim's head twice.

"This kind of violence is entirely unacceptable, and the Crown Prosecution Servic