Russell Brand, the British comedian and actor, faces serious criminal charges involving allegations from four different women, according to recently released court documents.
Brand, 49, has been charged with one count each of rape, indecent assault, and oral rape, along with two counts of sexual assault. The incidents are alleged to have occurred between 1999 and 2005, spanning multiple locations including Westminster and Bournemouth.
Specific details from the court documents outline disturbing accusations. One woman claims Brand indecently assaulted her in 2001 by grabbing her arm and attempting to drag her toward a male toilet. Another woman alleges that he sexually assaulted her in Westminster in 2004 by touching her breasts without her consent. That same year, he is also accused of orally raping the same woman. Additionally, he is charged with the rape of a woman in Bournemouth in 1999 and another sexual assault in Westminster between 2004 and 2005.
What Russell Brand Has To Say About The Charges?
The charges follow a major joint investigation launched in September 2023 by The Sunday Times, The Times, and Channel 4’s Dispatches, which presented accusations of rape, sexual assault, and emotional abuse against Brand.
Although it remains uncertain whether he will attend his scheduled appearance at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday, Brand addressed the charges in a video posted on X. “I am now going to have the opportunity to defend these charges in court and I’m incredibly grateful for that,” he said.
Reflecting on his past, Brand continued in the video: “I’ve always told you guys that when I was young and single before I had a wife and family, who are there just out of shot, I was a fool, man, I was a fool before I lived in the light of the Lord. I was a drug addict, a sex addict, and an imbecile but what I never was, was a rapist.”
“I’ve never engaged in non-consensual activity, and I pray that you can see that in my eyes,” he added, concluding with: “Of course I’m now gonna have the opportunity to defend these charges in court and I’m incredibly grateful for that. In the meantime you lot, stay free and we will be continuing to discuss this matter, praise the Lord.”
Brand, once a well-known media personality, gained fame in 2004 as host of Big Brother’s Big Mouth. Prior to that, he was dismissed from MTV, and later left BBC Radio 2 following the 2008 “Sachsgate” scandal, in which he left an inappropriate voicemail for actor Andrew Sachs regarding Sachs’ granddaughter.
He has since relocated to the United States, where he is believed to currently reside.
