Singer Chris Brown arrested over alleged assault at London club

LONDON: U.S. singer Chris Brown has been arrested and charged with inflicting grievous bodily harm in connection with an alleged assault in February 2023, British authorities said on Friday.

Brown is slated to be presented before a magistrates’ court, London’s Metropolitan Police and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said in separate statements.

The arrest relates to an incident at a venue in Hanover Square on February 19, 2023, police said.

Brown, 36, was arrested at a hotel in Manchester in connection with an alleged bottle attack against a music producer at the Tape nightclub in central London, the Sun reported earlier.

Reuters could not immediately verify the details of the Sun report. Representatives for Brown could not immediately be reached for comment.

The R&B star, known for hits such as “Loyal”, “Run It” and “Under the Influence”, is set to kick off a global tour next month, including shows in Manchester.

Earlier, Chris Brown filed a $500 million lawsuit against Warner Bros and others for making a ‘defamatory documentary’ about his alleged sexual assault and other accusations, according to a lawyers’ statement posted to the singer’s Instagram.

The film, ‘Chris Brown: A History of Violence’, which was released in October by Warner Bros’ Investigation Discovery channel, chronicles allegations of domestic violence, assault and sexual misconduct against the American R&B singer and rapper over the years.

Brown, 35, rose to fame at a young age with his rich R&B voice and later rap, but his reputation was later tarnished by allegations of domestic violence and other abuse – most famously when he was convicted of beating Rihanna, then his girlfriend, before the 2009 Grammy Awards, forcing the pop star to miss the annual gala.

In a complaint filed at Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday, Brown’s lawyers said the documentary, streamed on Max, has a ‘misleading narrative’ that accuses their client of ‘heinous acts, including sexual assault and evidence tampering – allegations that had been discredited in court and dismissed as baseless’.

The attorneys said the film ‘sensationalized debunked claims to drive viewership and revenue, recklessly damaging Mr Brown’s reputation and spreading false information to the public’, according to the statement, posted by Brown on Wednesday.

“To be clear Mr. Brown has never been found at fault for any type of sexual crime,” they added.