The trial of British comedian and actor Russell Brand began this week at Southwark Crown Court in London, where prosecutors described him as a ruthless sexual predator who targeted six women over the course of a decade. Brand, 51, faces three charges of rape, three counts of sexual assault and one count of indecent assault, relating to allegations spanning 1999 to 2009. He has pleaded not guilty to every charge and continues to deny all the accusations.
Opening the case for the prosecution, Riel Karmy-Jones KC told the jury that Brand treated the women he encountered as nothing more than a means to an end. She said that six separate women, who do not know each other, have brought forward different allegations, and that the evidence would show a pattern of indiscriminate and voracious behaviour. She told the court that Brand could be charming and funny when he wanted something in return, but became demanding and entitled, with what she described as a child-like expectation that his every desire should be met.
The court heard details of each allegation in turn. One woman says Brand raped her in a hotel room after a gig, pushing her onto the bed despite her saying no. Another, who worked in television, described being pulled into toilets with what the prosecutor called a desperate, wild-eyed look before she pushed him away. A woman at a Soho bar says Brand forced her to give him oral sex after pulling her into the toilets. A 22-year-old radio station employee alleges he grabbed her body and kissed her sloppily and aggressively until she pushed him off. An aspiring comedian who went home with Brand after his Hammersmith Apollo gig says that after consensual vaginal sex, he penetrated her anally with full force and without asking. A sixth woman, who was working in television when Brand arrived to make an advert, alleges he demanded a massage and pressed his face deep into her groin until she pushed him away with her fingertips.
Another account heard on the opening day involved a woman who met Brand at a Labour Party conference in Bournemouth in 1999. She told the court she had felt safe inviting him to her hotel room because she assumed he was gay. Prosecutors said Brand stripped down to his underwear, pranced around the room doing comic walks, and then allegedly sexually assaulted her while she froze. The prosecutor said the woman felt ashamed afterwards and blamed herself for inviting him back.
The allegations first became public in September 2023 following a joint investigation by Channel 4's Dispatches, The Times and The Sunday Times. The Metropolitan Police subsequently investigated, and the Crown Prosecution Service authorised the first five charges, involving four women, in April 2025. Two further charges followed, bringing the total to seven charges involving six women.
Jury selection took place on October 12, and the judge, Joel Bennathan, excluded prospective jurors who had watched the 2023 documentary or read lengthy newspaper coverage of the case. He instructed the sworn jurors, eight men and four women, not to carry out any research on Brand. The trial is expected to last about six weeks.
Arriving at court on Wednesday, Brand told reporters: 'Today I feel blessed. I feel of course concerned but hopeful that this process will lead to good outcomes for everybody involved.' He was accompanied by his wife. Under UK law, the six complainants have lifelong anonymity. Brand remains innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The trial marks the latest chapter in a long fall from prominence for a man who was once one of Britain's most high-profile broadcasters. Brand became a household name in the early 2000s presenting television spin-offs, winning awards at the British Comedy Awards, and hosting a BBC Radio 2 show before moving into Hollywood films including Get Him to the Greek in 2010, the same year he married US singer Katy Perry. The couple divorced in 2012 after 14 months of marriage. In recent years Brand has built a large online following with content focused on US politics, religion and free speech.