Paris - American R&B star Chris Brown was released without charge on Tuesday after being held overnight for questioning over a rape allegation in Paris, the prosecutor's office said.
A 25-year-old woman has accused Brown, along with his bodyguard and a friend, of assaulting her in the luxury Mandarin Oriental hotel last Tuesday night, a source close to the case said on condition of anonymity.
The Grammy Award-winning singer, 29, was detained on Monday on suspicion of aggravated rape and a drug offence.
READ MORE: Chris Brown detained in Paris after rape accusation
The prosecutor's office said an investigation was continuing, while Brown's lawyer Raphael Chiche said his client "energetically" proclaimed his innocence and wanted to bring a defamation lawsuit.
The alleged victim told police she met Brown in a nightclub near the Champs-Elysees avenue with a group of other women. She then agreed to go back to the hotel, which is on the glitzy boutique-lined Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honore.
Brown was pictured in the French capital last week attending shows during men's fashion week.
'THIS IS FALSE'
The singer posted a picture on his Instagram account Tuesday night that read: "This B!tch Lyin' [sic]".
He captioned the picture: "I WANNA MAKE IT PERFECTLY CLEAR...... THIS IS FALSE AND A WHOLE LOT OF CAP! NNNNNNNNEEEEEEEEEEVVVVVVVVVVEEEEEERRRRRR!!!!!! FOR MY DAUGHTER AND MY FAMILY THIS IS SO DISPRESPECTFUL AND IS AGAINST MY CHARACTER AND MORALS!!!!! [sic]"
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE POST.
According to TMZ Brown has decided to sue the woman for defamation.
His lawyer said in a statament: "Chris Brown is free. No lawsuits were filed against him. He vigorously challenges the charges against him. A complaint for slanderous denunciation will be filed tomorrow with the public prosecutor of Paris."
The singer, who according to Billboard has sold more than 100 million records, has been in the news more for his legal troubles than his hit releases in recent years.
In 2009 he was convicted of beating fellow singer Rihanna, his girlfriend at the time, who was forced to miss the Grammy Awards because of her injuries.
Brown was sentenced to five years' probation and six months of community service for the assault.
In 2014 he pleaded guilty to assaulting a fan in Washington and was accused of violence by a woman in Las Vegas.
Two years later he was arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon following a standoff with Los Angeles police officers, after a woman said he threatened her at his home.
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And last May a woman filed a lawsuit against Brown over claims that one of his friends repeatedly raped her at a drink- and drug-fuelled party at the singer's Los Angeles home in 2017.
READ MORE: Chris Brown sued after woman claims she was raped at his house