Brown ads suspended pending police probe

Chris Brown’s ad campaign with Wrigley was suspended until his criminal case is resolved, and reports surfaced that Rihanna, his longtime girlfriend and a fellow no-show at the Grammy Awards, was the woman who accused him of assault.

The Los Angeles Times, citing law enforcement officials familiar with the case and other sources it did not name, reported that Rihanna, whose full name is Robyn Rihanna Fenty, was the woman who told police that Brown had hurt her the night before the Grammy Awards.

A police statement said Brown and an unidentified woman began arguing while riding in a car following a pre-Grammy party where they were spotted together on Saturday night.

The fight escalated when they got out of the car in the ritzy Hancock Park neighbourhood, the report said, and Brown was gone by the time officers arrived.

The report indicated that the woman was injured, but Brown was booked only on suspicion of making a criminal threat, a felony, after walking into a police station on Sunday night. Authorities said the district attorney could choose to expand the charges.

A district attorney spokeswoman said police had not yet presented a case against Brown.

Brown was released after posting $50,000 (€38,650) bail. Both he and Rihanna had backed out of their scheduled performances at the Grammy Awards, where producers scrambled to fill their slots.

Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton said he expects detectives to present their case to prosecutors in the next day or so.

He added Brown received no special considerations before his arrest or when he was booked.

“We dealt with him like we deal with everybody else,” Mr Bratton said.

Organisers said Rihanna had postponed a concert in Malaysia this week.

Malaysia’s Pineapple Concerts said today it was informed by Rihanna’s Los Angeles-based representatives that the February 13 show would have to be rescheduled to an unconfirmed date “in light of recent events involving Rihanna”.

Rihanna had been slated to visit Indonesia and Malaysia on her 'Good Girl Gone Bad' tour.

Her planned stop in Kuala Lumpur had drawn publicity after organisers said she would shun skimpy outfits to conform with Muslim-majority Malaysia’s strict rules on performers’ dress.