A California judge has dismissed Chris Brown’s lawsuit against Warner Bros, ending the singer’s attempt to challenge a documentary that revisited allegations from his past.
On Jan. 12, Judge Colin Leis ruled against Brown, tossing out the case he filed in January 2025 against Warner Bros and production company Ample. The lawsuit stemmed from the docuseries Chris Brown: A History of Violence, which aired in 2024 on Investigation Discovery and examined allegations of domestic violence and sexual assault connected to the R&B artist.
One segment of the series focused on a woman who alleged Brown raped her on Sean “Diddy” Combs’ yacht in 2020. Brown has denied the accusation. Billboard previously reported that he described the claim as false and stated that the woman had a violent history herself.
Brown’s legal team publicly condemned the documentary following its release. His attorney, Levi McCathern, accused the companies involved of damaging Brown’s reputation. “That’s not right and that’s not good and I’ll just say it right here shame on you, Warner Bros.,” McCathern said. “Shame on you big companies for doing this to people‘s lives because at the end of the day people are more important than companies.”
Judge Leis rejected those arguments, finding that the docuseries fairly presented the material. “The documentary recites most of the inconsistencies plaintiff notes, including the existence of the text messages,” Leis wrote. “Media defendants thus presented a ‘fair and true’ report of [the woman’s] statements and the judicial record and proceedings.”
Leis further concluded that Brown failed to provide sufficient evidence to support his defamation claims. He also cited commentary by culture writer Scaachi Koul referencing Brown’s “predisposition for punching women in the face,” tied to his 2009 assault of then-girlfriend Rihanna.
Brown was later sentenced to probation, domestic violence counseling, and community service following that conviction.