Russell Brand was called “ruthless” and a “sexual predator” by the prosecution on the first day of his trial at Southwark Crown Court in London. The 51-year-old actor and comedian faces three counts of rape, three charges of sexual assault, and one count of indecent assault. The allegations come from six women and span a decade, from 1999 to 2009. Brand denies all charges.
Riel Karmy-Jones KC, prosecuting, told jurors the women “did not know each other”, “have never met each other” and “came forward independently of each other.” She said the alleged offences were “as wide and as varied as the defendant’s career.” Brand’s conduct, she said, was marked by a “strong desire for some form of sexual contact” that was “indiscriminate and voracious.”
The prosecutor described Brand as “nice when he wanted to be, funny – undoubtedly – charming, likeable even, when he wanted something in return.” Yet, she added, he was also “demanding, entitled, a flirt with a huge sexual appetite – childlike in his expectation that his every desire should be met.” After the alleged assaults, Brand “would appear indifferent, normal and untroubled,” sometimes leaving quickly, sometimes making excuses, or continuing as if nothing had happened.
Brand’s wife, Laura, accompanied him to court on Wednesday. The trial is expected to last six weeks.
Details of the allegations emerged as the prosecution laid out each complainant’s account. The first woman said she met Brand before he was famous in 1999 at a Labour Party conference fringe event. She said he later raped her. When questioned by police, Brand reportedly said he did not remember the incident or her name and denied ever engaging in non-consensual activity.
The second complainant, who worked for MTV, said Brand indecently assaulted her after she showed him the toilets. He allegedly grabbed her forearm and begged her to “come in,” displaying a desperate, wild-eyed look, according to the prosecution. She resisted.
The third woman said Brand orally raped her in a toilet in 2004 after meeting at a party. She recalled him grabbing her breasts with a “big, weird grin” and pulling her towards the toilets. During the same night, Brand exposed himself in a car and invited her to perform oral sex, which she refused.
The fourth complainant said Brand pushed her against a wall at Capital Radio in 2004 or 2005, kissing her “sloppily and aggressively” and grabbing her breasts, sides, and buttocks. She pushed him away, and he “just sniggered, like it was a joke,” the prosecutor told jurors.
The fifth woman met Brand at the Hammersmith Apollo in 2009. Their initial encounter was consensual, but the prosecution said he later raped her anally. She told the court she “spent months and years blaming herself,” developing anxiety and poor health. Text messages from Brand after seeing her at an event the following summer read, “I wanna push you further.” She replied, “I think you pushed me far enough – you treated me like an animal.” Brand allegedly responded, “I’m sorry.”
The sixth complainant accused Brand of sexual assault in 2009 while she was on a work assignment. The prosecution said Brand “fell to his knees and placed his head directly into her groin area” after demanding a massage.
Brand told police in 2023 he “has never engaged in non-consensual sexual activity” and claimed the allegations were “reinvented or imagined” following a defamatory documentary and subsequent press coverage.
Mark Pinheiro, Brand’s former flatmate, was the first witness to give evidence. He told the court Brand admitted he might have “gone a bit too far” with a woman at the Labour Party conference in 1999. Pinheiro recalled Brand saying, “things got a little bit heated and a little bit out of hand,” and he “thinks that maybe he did go a little bit too far.” Under cross-examination, Pinheiro confirmed he was sure Brand had said “things may have gone a little bit too far” or “I may have taken things a little too far.”
Brand rose to fame as a stand-up comedian and gained wider recognition hosting TV shows such as Big Brother’s Big Mouth and radio programmes on BBC Radio 2 and 6 Music. He later moved into Hollywood films, including Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Get Him To The Greek, before turning to podcasting. He currently lives in Florida.
The trial proceeds amid close scrutiny, with jurors due to hear further evidence in the coming weeks.
According to Joy Online.
