Chris Brown has been sued through the courts in California over an alleged incident that occurred at the Tape nightclub in London earlier this year. The musician's label Sony Music and promoter Live Nation are also named as defendants.
According to the lawsuit, the incident occurred while Brown was in the UK on his 'Under The Influence' tour in February. The plaintiff, Amadou 'Abe' Diaw, says he has known Brown for seven years, so expected a friendly interaction when he saw the musician and fellow artist HoodyBaby approaching him at the London club.
However, the lawsuit claims, instead "Brown brutally assaulted plaintiff ... wielding a large bottle of Don Julio 1942 Tequila as his weapon, Brown inflicted severe and lasting injuries on plaintiff when beating him over the head with crushing blows".
"As plaintiff lay unconscious on the floor, Brown continued to ruthlessly stomp on the defenceless plaintiff for approximately 30 seconds", it goes on.
"Plaintiff ended up in the hospital with lacerations on his head and torn ligaments in his leg. Upon information and belief, Brown fled the country and is now a fugitive at large in the United Kingdom".
On that latter allegation, the lawsuit later explains that the incident was captured on security cameras in the club, with the footage being obtained by London's Metropolitan Police.
"On information and belief", the lawsuit states, "once the Metropolitan Police sought to question defendant Brown and defendant Hoodie regarding the assault, they both failed to appear to the scheduled meetings. Instead, defendant Brown and defendant Hoodie fled the United Kingdom, back to the United States, and are currently fugitives in the United Kingdom".
As for why tour promoter Live Nation is listed as a defendant, the lawsuit states that the live giant "intentionally, or in the alternative negligently, took advantage of Brown’s prominent bad-boy persona to market and promote the 'Under The Influence' tour. By assigning the tour a nefarious title, Live Nation sought to attract fans who were aware of Brown’s prior indiscretions and monetise Brown’s hotheaded persona".
The lawsuit lists some of those "prior indiscretions", starting with Brown’s assault of then girlfriend Rihanna in 2009. Live Nation’s plan to capitalise on that notoriety was successful, the lawsuit then claims, because "the tour grossed over $10,000,000. Through its intentional or negligent naming of Brown’s tour, Live Nation publicised and seemingly sanctioned Brown’s bad acts, impliedly licensing his criminal behaviour".
"Upon information and belief", it goes on, "Live Nation’s intentional or in the alternative negligent endorsement of Brown’s brutality empowered Brown to carry out a gruesome assault on the plaintiff while under the influence of alcohol and potentially other substances. Plaintiff was left in the hospital to recover from serious and permanent injuries while defendants walked away with millions".
None of the defendants have as yet responded to the lawsuit.