US Singer Chris Brown Charged with Assault in Britain

US singer Chris Brown, pictured in 2020, is due in court in Britain after being charged with 'grievous bodily harm' over an assault at a London nightclub in 2023. VALERIE MACON / AFP/File
US singer Chris Brown, pictured in 2020, is due in court in Britain after being charged with 'grievous bodily harm' over an assault at a London nightclub in 2023. VALERIE MACON / AFP/File
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US Singer Chris Brown Charged with Assault in Britain

US singer Chris Brown, pictured in 2020, is due in court in Britain after being charged with 'grievous bodily harm' over an assault at a London nightclub in 2023. VALERIE MACON / AFP/File
US singer Chris Brown, pictured in 2020, is due in court in Britain after being charged with 'grievous bodily harm' over an assault at a London nightclub in 2023. VALERIE MACON / AFP/File

American R&B singer Chris Brown, the former boyfriend of superstar Rihanna, is due to appear in a UK court on Friday after being arrested and charged over an alleged assault at a London nightclub in 2023, police said.

Brown, 36, is known for mid-2000s hits such as "Kiss, Kiss" and a litany of legal troubles including a felony conviction for assaulting then-girlfriend Rihanna in 2009.

He was arrested again in the early hours of Thursday at a hotel in Manchester, the Metropolitan Police said.

The singer, who has faced criminal accusations including sexual assault and domestic violence, remains in custody and will appear in court in the northwestern city at 10:00 am (0900 GMT) on Friday, the Metropolitan Police said in a statement.

Brown was charged with "grievous bodily harm with intent" in relation to "an assault, which reportedly took place at a venue in Hanover Square in London" on February 19, 2023, the statement said.

Brown allegedly attacked music producer Abe Diaw with a bottle at Tape nightclub in London's exclusive Mayfair district, The Sun daily reported.

The singer, who began his career in the 2000s and has sold tens of millions of records worldwide, was touring the UK at the time.

Brown reportedly flew into Manchester airport by private jet on Wednesday afternoon.

He is due to embark on a world tour next month, including several scheduled dates in the UK in June and July.

Police detained Brown early Thursday at the five-star Lowry Hotel in Manchester, according to media reports.

History of violence

The two-time Grammy winner 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.

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, he pleaded guilty to assaulting a fan in Washington.

Brown, who rose from a local church choir in Virginia to sudden fame, was also arrested in 2016 after a woman alleged that he pointed a gun at her.

Earlier that year, another woman accused him of battery in Las Vegas.

He also was previously accused of raping a woman in a luxury Paris hotel. He denied the claim and was not charged.



How the Coveted Bronze BAFTA Mask Trophies Are Made

Completed British Academy Film Awards masks at the FSE Foundry in Braintree, England on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP)
Completed British Academy Film Awards masks at the FSE Foundry in Braintree, England on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP)
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How the Coveted Bronze BAFTA Mask Trophies Are Made

Completed British Academy Film Awards masks at the FSE Foundry in Braintree, England on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP)
Completed British Academy Film Awards masks at the FSE Foundry in Braintree, England on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP)

Those winning a prize at the upcoming British Academy Film Awards will bag a coveted bronze mask trophy — and get a bit of an arm workout taking it home.

Along with the honor of being named the best of the year in the industry, winners at the BAFTA ceremony on Feb. 22 will be awarded one of the dozens of the 3-kilogram (6.6-pound) prizes.

This year the cast and crew of “One Battle After Another,” “Sinners,” “Hamnet,” “Marty Supreme,” and “Sentimental Value” are in the running for the trophies at the EE BAFTA ceremony, to be held at London's Royal Festival Hall.

As with many things in show business, all that glitters is not gold. The BAFTA masks are made of phosphor bronze, polished to a mirror finish that will reflect the happy face of its new owner.

Craftsmen at the AATi Foundry in Braintree, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) northeast of London, use a sandcasting technique to make about 350 bronze trophies each year for all the BAFTA ceremonies — covering the film, television and gaming industries.

They are created in batches, and making one from start to finish takes around a week, the foundry's director Hugh Bisset said Tuesday.

The process starts with a pattern by the tooling team, often out of timber or 3D printing. That tool moves to the molding team which uses sand to make two recessed impressions of the mask, one each side. They are then closed together, ready for molten hot bronze — up to 1,200 degrees Celsius (2,192 Fahrenheit) — to be poured into it.

The metal takes about three or four hours to cool down, when it can then be removed from the sand. The masks' surfaces look dull and a bit rough around the edges at this stage, but after fettling, threading and polishing they are ready to be assembled before being checked over extremely carefully.

Bisset says it’s important that the masks are shiny and have no polish left on them.

“The thing I’m always conscious of is that these amazing actors and actresses, they pick up their awards and my big concern is that a smudge of polish will end up over their lovely, beautiful white dress,” he said. “There’s lots of things we need to think about.”

Bisset reckons the diligence and care that his skilled team puts into the making of the masks reflects the hard work of the winning filmmakers and movie stars.

While it’s still unknown if favorites Jessie Buckley, Timothée Chalamet and Teyana Taylor will get the glory on Sunday, whoever does win will take home something worth more than its heavy weight in bronze.

“There’s a lot of metal in it,” but each mask also has “a lot of time and love being put into it,” Bisset said.


Britney Spears Sells Rights to Music Catalogue

FILE PHOTO: Singer Britney Spears arrives at the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards in New York, US, August 28, 2016.  REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Singer Britney Spears arrives at the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards in New York, US, August 28, 2016. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo/File Photo
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Britney Spears Sells Rights to Music Catalogue

FILE PHOTO: Singer Britney Spears arrives at the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards in New York, US, August 28, 2016.  REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Singer Britney Spears arrives at the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards in New York, US, August 28, 2016. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo/File Photo

Pop star ‌Britney Spears has sold her rights to her music catalogue to independent music publisher Primary Wave, the ​latest artist to strike a deal for her work.

Entertainment site TMZ, citing legal documents it had obtained, first reported the news, saying the "Oops!... I Did It Again" and "Toxic" singer had signed the deal on December 30.

According to Reuters, it quoted sources as saying it ‌was "in the ‌ballpark" of Canadian singer Justin ​Bieber's ‌reported $200 ⁠million ​agreement to sell ⁠his music rights to Hipgnosis in 2023.

A person familiar with the situation said news of the Spears and Primary Wave deal was accurate. No further details were given.

Primary Wave, which is home to artists ⁠including Whitney Houston, Prince and Stevie ‌Nicks, did not ‌immediately respond to a request for ​comment. Spears has ‌not commented publicly.

The 44-year-old, one of ‌the most successful pop artists of all time, has topped charts around the world, starting off with "...Baby One More Time" in 1998. The ‌deal includes her songs such as "(You Drive Me) Crazy", "Circus", "Gimme More" and "I'm a Slave ⁠4 ⁠U", TMZ said.

Spears' ninth and last studio album, "Glory", came out in 2016.

In 2021, she was released from a 13-year court-ordered conservatorship set up and controlled by her father, Jamie Spears. The arrangement had governed Spears' personal life, career and $60 million estate from 2008 until it was terminated in November 2021.

Spears follows artists such as Sting, ​Bruce Springsteen and Justin ​Timberlake who have struck deals to cash in on their work.


Glitzy Oscar Nominees Luncheon Back One Year After LA Fires 

Brazilian actor Wagner Moura arrives to The Hollywood Reporter's Nominees Night held at the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles, on February 10, 2026. (AFP)
Brazilian actor Wagner Moura arrives to The Hollywood Reporter's Nominees Night held at the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles, on February 10, 2026. (AFP)
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Glitzy Oscar Nominees Luncheon Back One Year After LA Fires 

Brazilian actor Wagner Moura arrives to The Hollywood Reporter's Nominees Night held at the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles, on February 10, 2026. (AFP)
Brazilian actor Wagner Moura arrives to The Hollywood Reporter's Nominees Night held at the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles, on February 10, 2026. (AFP)

Hollywood stars embraced at this year's Oscars nominee lunch, the glamorous pre-show gathering that was canceled amid last year's devastating Los Angeles wildfires.

Timothee Chalamet, nominated for best actor in "Marty Supreme," flashed a smile while fellow Best Actor contenders Micahel B. Jordan and Ethan Hawke also flitted around the annual luncheon in Beverly Hills.

Mexican director Guillermo del Toro chatted with his tablemates as Wagner Moura, the Brazilian star of "The Secret Agent," enthusiastically embraced Stellan Skarsgard and Oliver Laxe -- the latter of whom has his film "Sirat" up for best international feature film.

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Lynette Howell Taylor praised the diversity of this year's nominees.

"Ballots were cast from 88 countries and regions," the British producer said, adding that "the mission of the Academy is to amplify your art, movies and your voices."

The more than 200 nominees enjoyed a buzzy afternoon, all the more energetic after last year's lunch was canceled as huge fires razed whole communities around Los Angeles. That year the lunch was replaced with a smaller dinner at the Academy's museum.

"This is a recognition of Brazilian cinema, and of the cinema of our region," Moura told AFP.

Nearby, "The Secret Agent" director Kleber Mendonca Filho joked he was feeling animated -- "like a generator."

Skarsgard said that the impact of international films is growing, as evidenced by his historic nomination for Best Supporting Actor for Norwegian film "Sentimental Value."

Foreign films and their stars typically notch nominations in the international categories, but Skarsgard is competing against nominees from US blockbusters, including Benicio del Toro in "One Battle After Another" and Delroy Lindo in "Sinners."

Benicio del Toro meanwhile told AFP he was doubly thrilled after watching fellow Puerto Rican Bad Bunny perform at the Super Bowl halftime show over the weekend.

"I got goosebumps," he told AFP, adding: "It was beautiful."

The luncheon's other legendary del Toro, the director Guillermo, meanwhile said he was "calm."

While his "Frankenstein" is nominated for Best Picture, del Toro himself is off the hook for Best Director, which he said took the pressure off him and meant he could focus on promoting his team.

"I'm happy because nine nominations don't happen every day," he said.

Lanky heartthrob Jacob Elordi, up for best supporting actor, offered a similarly toned down vibe at an impromptu photo shoot.

"I'm chilling," he said. "It's all good."