Topline
Chris Brown, the R&B singer who has faced numerous charges and allegations of assault throughout his career, was reportedly arrested in the United Kingdom Thursday in connection with a 2023 nightclub attack, according to multiple U.K. outlets, though the Metropolitan police would not confirm to Forbes whether the man arrested is Brown.
Brown was previously sued for allegedly attacking a producer in a London nightclub. (Photo by … More
Key Facts
The Metropolitan police told Forbes a 36-year-old man was arrested at a hotel in Manchester in the early hours of Thursday morning “on suspicion of grievous bodily harm,” and he remains in custody.
The arrest was made in connection with “an incident at a venue in Hanover Square” on Feb. 19, 2023, though the police did not specify the venue or what the incident was.
Multiple U.K. news outlets have reported the man arrested is Brown, including The Sun, which published pictures purporting to show Brown at a Hanover Square nightclub on the night of the incident.
Brown was previously sued by music producer Abe Diaw, who alleged Brown smashed a tequila bottle over his head and stomped on him at the Tape nightclub in Hanover Square in February 2023, which led to hospitalization.
Diaw told The Sun on Sunday Brown “hit me over the head two or three times” and “my knee collapsed as well.”
The police did not confirm to Forbes whether the man arrested is Brown, nor that the incident concerned Diaw.
Forbes has reached out to Brown’s lawyers for comment.
What To Watch For
Whether Brown’s reported arrest will impact his upcoming tour. He is slated to embark on the Breezy Bowl XX tour next month in Europe, beginning with concerts in the Netherlands and Denmark. He has nine dates scheduled for the United Kingdom between June and July, beginning with a string of shows in Manchester on June 15.
Key Background
Brown has long faced legal issues and accusations of assault throughout his career, most notably his domestic violence case against his then-girlfriend Rihanna. In 2009, Brown was arrested after an argument with Rihanna turned physical, in which she sustained visible facial injuries, later pleading guilty to felony assault and receiving a sentence of five years probation, domestic violence counseling and community labor. In a documentary nearly a decade later, Brown said the fight made him feel like a “monster” and it would “haunt me forever.” Brown later violated his probation by punching a man in the nose during a 2013 altercation in Washington, D.C., receiving an assault charge. Brown was sent to rehab, where he violated the facility’s internal rules, leading a judge to sentence Brown to jail, where he served nearly three months. Brown has been involved in numerous other alleged altercations, and he faced an additional felony battery charge in 2018 in connection with a 2017 incident, which was later dropped. In the 2024 Warner Bros. documentary “Chris Brown: A History of Violence,” an anonymous woman accused Brown of raping her on a yacht owned by Sean “Diddy” Combs, who is currently on trial for sex trafficking and racketeering. Brown called the accusations “defamatory” and sued Warner Bros. for $500 million in January.
Further Reading
Chris Brown sues Warner Bros over documentary’s sex assault claims (BBC)
