Rapper-singer Chris Brown was released without charge, hours after he was detained in Paris over a rape allegation.
The 29-year-old singer and two of his associates, including a bodyguard, were held by police on Tuesday following an investigation into an alleged rape at Le Mandarin Oriental hotel, where he has been staying for Paris Fashion Week.
The Grammy Award winner was detained on suspicion of aggravated rape and a drug offence.
A 24-year-old woman claimed he sexually assaulted her in his hotel room between January 15 and 16 this year. She said they met at Le Crystal club, near Les Champs-Elysees, and followed him back to the hotel.
According to French publication Closer, the woman in her testimony claimed Brown raped her inside the room. After that, his bodyguard and a friend of his also sexually assaulted her.
French police will continue to investigate the woman's claim.
After his release, Brown took to Instagram to deny the allegation.
"I wanna make it perfectly clear... This is false and a whole lot of cap!" he wrote alongside a picture that read: "This b***h lyin."
"Never!!! For my daughter and my family this is so disprespectful and is against my character and morals!"
The other two men arrested with Brown have also reportedly been released.
This is not the singer's first tryst with the law. In 2009, Brown had received five years probation and a community service order for assaulting his ex-girlfriend, Rihanna, in his car in 2009.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)