Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – American R&B singer Chris Brown, former boyfriend of superstar Rihanna, was Friday remanded in custody until June 13 by a UK court, charged with assault over a 2023 incident. The judge’s decision to reject his bail request throws into doubt the start of Brown’s next tour, with shows already sold-out in the Netherlands on June 8 and Germany on June 11.
Brown, a two-time Grammy winner who has sold tens of millions of records worldwide, was arrested in the early hours of Thursday at a Manchester hotel and charged over the alleged assault at a London nightclub in 2023, police said. The 36-year-old appeared at Manchester Magistrates’ Court on Friday, where District Judge Joanne Hirst remanded him in custody until a plea and trial preparation hearing at London’s Southwark Crown Court on June 13. Brown is due to play in Germany that day, and has a series of shows planned in the UK and Europe during June and July, before heading to the United States.
Wearing a black T-shirt, Brown spoke to confirm his name, age and the address of the hotel where he was staying. The singer is known for mid-2000s hits such as “Kiss, Kiss,” as well as a litany of legal troubles including a felony conviction for assaulting then-girlfriend Rihanna in 2009. He has also faced criminal accusations including sexual assault and domestic violence.
Brown was charged with “grievous bodily harm with intent” in relation to “an assault” that allegedly took place at a venue in Hanover Square in London on February 19, 2023, police said. Prosecutor Hannah Nicholls told the court the alleged victim was at the bar in the Tape nightclub in central London when he was struck several times with a bottle in an “unprovoked” attack. “The defendant then pursued him to a separate area of the nightclub where the victim was punched and kicked repeatedly by him and another,” she added.
Brown was touring the UK at the time of the alleged assault. He reportedly flew into Manchester airport by private jet on Wednesday afternoon. Police detained him at the five-star Lowry Hotel in Manchester, according to media reports.
Brown rose from a local church choir in Virginia to sudden fame with his rich R&B voice and later rap, but his reputation has been tarnished by allegations of domestic violence and other abuse. He was convicted of having beaten Rihanna before the 2009 Grammy Awards, forcing the pop star to miss the annual gala. In 2012, Brown was involved in an altercation at a New York nightclub with members of hip hop star Drake’s entourage, during which French basketball star Tony Parker suffered an eye injury after being hit by a thrown glass bottle. Two years later, Brown pleaded guilty to assaulting a fan in Washington. Brown was also arrested in 2016 after a woman alleged he pointed a gun at her.
© 2024 AFP
