Chris Brown was barred from traveling to the U.K. after he pleaded guilty to assaulting his then-girlfriend Rihanna in 2009.
Wizkid‘s Made in Lagos Tour had a stop at the O2 arena in London on Sunday night for the first of a three-night run at the venue, Chris Brown was brought out to sing his 2020 hit “Go Crazy” — marking the first time Brown had performed in the United Kingdom in 10 years.
“This is my f—ing brother for more than 10 years,” Wizkid told the crowd. “This is my guy, the first guy to ever show me love internationally and sh–, you know? Tonight this is his first time performing in London in more than 10 years. Now y’all make some noise for my f—ing brother. My real n—a! My dawg! Breezy!”
Brown was barred from traveling to the U.K. after he pleaded guilty to assaulting his then-girlfriend Rihanna in 2009. He was spotted visiting London back in 2020 but this was his first time performing.
Brown took to Instagram to thank Wizkid for inviting him to perform at the show, writing, “So FU**ing proud/thankful of/for my bro @wizkidayo for his achievement. we been homies for 10 years +. LONDON I CANT EVEN BEGIN TO THANK YOU ENOUGH FOR THE LOVE YALL HAVE SHOWED ME. Truly a moment I will forever be grateful for. #breezyseason.”
Also making headlines at Sunday’s O2 show, several fans were able to breach security and enter the venue, according to a venue spokeswoman and videos posted to social media. “The situation was quickly contained by staff and the incident resolved,” an O2 spokeswoman told the BBC. “The venue is reviewing security procedures for the remaining shows this week and advises fans to arrive early for security checks tomorrow night and again on Wednesday.”
The security breach comes after a slew of lawsuits surrounding Travis Scott in light of the Astroworld Fetsival tragedy, which left 10 of its attendees dead after fans crashed the event without tickets and crowd conditions led to a dangerous atmosphere in the main pit area.
Per U.K. trade organization the Night Time Industries Association, an estimated 30% (30,000) of U.K. security staffers at nightlife events have left the industry over the past 18 months. In a new report, Billboard found that one in five U.K. nightlife/hospitality businesses had no choice but to close due to security staffing shortages, according to NTIA CEO Michael Kill.
