R&B singer Chris Brown is set to stand trial in October next year after pleading not guilty to attacking a music producer with a bottle at a London nightclub.
The American musician, 36, has been charged with trying to cause grievous bodily harm with intent on Abraham Diaw at the Tape nightclub in Hanover Square, Mayfair, on February 19, 2023.
It is said Mr Diaw was struck several times with a bottle before being kicked and punched several times, after encountering Brown and his entourage at the venue’s Dirty Martini club night.
At Southwark crown court on Friday, Brown stood in the dock alongside his vocal coach, Omolulu Akinlolu, 38, who is jointly charged with the alleged attack.
Both defendants entered not guilty pleas to the charge of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm with intent.
Judge Tony Baumgartner set a trial date for October 26 next year.
Brown and Akinlolu are expected to return to court for a further pre-trial hearing on July 11.
They did not enter pleas on Friday to a charge of assaulting Mr Diaw occasioning him actual bodily harm, and Brown was also not asked to enter a plea to a count of having an offensive weapon – a bottle – in a public place.
Brown was arrested at the five-star Lowry Hotel in Manchester after he flew into the UK in May ahead of the start of the British leg of his Breezy Bowl XX world tour.
He spent time in prison on remand before being granted bail, with several conditions including the provision of a £5 million security lodged with the court.
The Go Crazy singer has been allowed to leave the UK despite being under bail conditions, as long as he surrenders his passport on arrival in the US, Europe, and Canada.
Manchester Magistrates’ Court heard last month that Mr Diaw was standing at the bar of the Tape nightclub when he says he was struck several times with a bottle, and was then allegedly pursued to a separate area of the nightclub where he was punched and kicked repeatedly.
Shortly after being released from prison, Brown posted an Instagram story referencing his upcoming tour.
It said: “FROM THE CAGE TO THE STAGE!!! BREEZYBOWL.” He also thanked the prison and its staff during one of his tour appearances.
Brown and Akinlolu, a fellow US national, were re-admitted to bail on Friday at the end of the court hearing.
The two defendants are allowed limited contact with each other ahead of trial, either through solicitors in relation to the criminal case, or for the purpose of voice coaching on Brown’s world tour.
