Iconic ’90s R&B Star Arrested On Battery After Restaurant Incident

Mark Morrison, best known for his 1996 global hit “Return of the Mack,” was arrested over the weekend in Palm Beach, Florida, after allegedly assaulting a restaurant manager during a heated dispute.

The altercation prompted a bystander to intervene, separating the two men and urging Morrison to leave the premises.

Police later arrested Mark Morrison on a charge of simple battery.

According to a police report obtained by TMZ, the 50-year-old British R&B singer “stormed into” Le Bar à Vin on Saturday evening, yelling and cursing at the establishment’s general manager, Nicola Lavacca.

Witnesses said Morrison, who was reportedly upset over a planned event at the venue, escalated the situation by shoving Lavacca in the upper body. Lavacca did not retaliate.

Fabrizio Riillo, the restaurant’s nightlife manager, confirmed the victim’s account to police, stating that Mark Morrison entered the venue “in an irate manner” and continued a verbal exchange with the victim before pushing him twice.

Riillo said he stepped in to separate the two and then asked Morrison to leave the premises. He also told police that the victim never touched or physically confronted Morrison, who owns a home in Palm Beach Gardens.

Speaking to the Daily News, Riillo explained that the confrontation stemmed from an incident the previous night, when Morrison brought a singer to the restaurant and repeatedly urged the artist’s team to raise the volume of the music.

According to Riillo, when the music became too loud, the venue’s general manager informed Morrison that he had no authority to request a volume increase.

As a result, Riillo said, “Mark Morrison came back on Saturday night looking for a fight.”

A photo published by TMZ shows the singer handcuffed outside the restaurant, dressed in a black shirt, shorts, and yellow shoes.

Morrison was released on Sunday morning after posting a $1,000 bond. Court records indicate he is scheduled for arraignment on April 15 at the Palm Beach County Courthouse in West Palm Beach.

Representatives for Morrison have not publicly commented on the incident.

Morrison rose to fame with “Return of the Mack,” which topped the UK charts in 1996 and peaked at No. 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100 the following year. The single became one of the defining R&B anthems of the 1990s, earning platinum status in the U.S. and double platinum certification in the UK. In 2023, Billboard ranked the track No. 318 on its list of the 500 Best Pop Songs of All Time.

It served as the lead single from Morrison’s debut album of the same name, blending R&B, hip-hop soul, and a touch of funk that felt both fresh and familiar. Its infectious beat was anchored by a sample from Tom Tom Club’s “Genius of Love,” the same groove that powered Mariah Carey’s “Fantasy.”

Despite his musical success, Morrison’s career has been repeatedly overshadowed by legal troubles.

In 1997, he was convicted of attempting to bring a firearm aboard an airplane and served three months in jail.

Just a year later, he was jailed for 12 months after sending a lookalike to complete his community service following a conviction for affray connected to a fatal brawl.

He has also faced multiple other charges over the years, including a 2002 kidnapping and theft accusation (for which a warrant was issued after he failed to appear in court), and a 2004 arrest tied to a nightclub altercation in Leicester.

During a stint in prison, Morrison reportedly converted to Islam and attempted to change his name to Abdul Rahman. He later returned to music and launched his own record label, MackLife, through which he founded the Drop the Knife, Pick up the Mic campaign, an initiative aimed at reducing youth violence.

Now a Florida resident with two reported multimillion-dollar homes, Morrison’s latest legal troubles add to a long list of controversial headlines that have followed him since his rise to fame nearly three decades ago.