Chris Brown Free to Play World Tour After Not Guilty Plea

New York Times

5 hours ago

Chris Brown, the Grammy-winning R&B singer, appeared on Friday in a London courthouse and pleaded not guilty to assaulting a man in a nightclub in the city.
Tony Baumgartner, the presiding judge, said that Mr. Brown would face a trial of between five and seven days, starting in October next year, on a charge of grievous bodily harm with intent.
After a court hearing last month, Mr. Brown posted bail of 5 million pounds, about $6.7 million, allowing him to travel outside Britain and continue a world tour that takes in North American dates, including two nights in August at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. During Friday's heading, prosecutors did not ask for any changes to the bail conditions.
In the courthouse, Mr. Brown sat in a plexiglass box wearing a blue suit and glasses, and listened to a court official describe a February 2023 encounter in which the singer is accused of attacking Abraham Diaw, a music producer, with a tequila bottle in a London nightclub. Mr. Brown then pleaded not guilty.
Omololu Akinlolu, 38, an American rapper who performs under the name HoodyBaby and is Mr. Brown's vocal coach, also pleaded not guilty in relation to the episode.
Mr. Brown's legal team requested a delay before he entered pleas on two further charges: assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and carrying an offensive weapon. Sallie Bennett-Jenkins, Mr. Brown's lawyer, said that she needed time to assess evidence that the prosecution had only recently provided. The judge said the court would reconvene on July 11 to hear those pleas.
Under British law, media outlets cannot report any details of a case that could prejudice a jury before trial.
After the 28-minute hearing, Mr. Brown walked out of the courtroom while waving to around two dozen fans in the public gallery, several of whom shouted, 'Love you, Chris!'
The court appearance occurred in the middle of the European leg of the American singer's world tour. At a concert in Manchester on Sunday, Mr. Brown thanked fans as well as the nearby jail where he stayed after his arrest last month. 'It was really nice,' Mr. Brown said, according to a report by the BBC.
Since releasing his debut single in 2005, Mr. Brown has been one of R&B's best-known performers with 17 Billboard top 10 hits, the most recent of which was 'Go Crazy' in 2020.