Actor and comedian Russell Brand, who was once one of the United Kingdom’s best-known television presenters, acted as a ruthless predator: to satisfy his insatiable sexual appetite, he raped women or sexually assaulted them, ignoring their protests. Prosecutors said this, UNN reports, citing Reuters.
Details
The 51-year-old Brand, the former husband of American singer Katy Perry, is on trial on charges of three counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault and one count of engaging in sexual activity without the complainant’s consent; the charges concern six women and events that took place between 1999 and 2009.
He denies all the charges and will present his defence later in court.
"Today I feel blessed," he said as he arrived at London’s Southwark Crown Court. "Of course, I am nervous, but I hope this trial will lead to positive outcomes for everyone involved."
Opening the case, prosecutor Riel Karmi-Jones said that some of the six women who brought the allegations had resisted, while others had been unable to respond to his advances. According to her, this made no difference to Brand.
"His appetite — a strong desire for sexual contact — was indiscriminate and insatiable," the prosecutor said.
Although he could be funny, charming and pleasant to talk to, when he wanted something he also displayed a childish conviction that any desire of his should be satisfied, she added.
"He was ruthless, calculating, manipulative and, the prosecution contends, a sexual predator," Karmi-Jones said.
According to her, the alleged offences were committed over a decade while he was building his career — from performing stand-up comedy to working as a television presenter, actor and star of Hollywood films.
In addition
The first of these incidents allegedly occurred in 1999, when he was performing a show on the sidelines of a Labour Party conference in Bournemouth. The first complainant, who watched the show and believed Brand was gay, said that he raped her in a hotel room; she had invited him there because she thought he was interested in the matter she had discussed with him.
According to the prosecutor, one of the fellow performers who appeared with him at that show said that Brand boasted of wanting to sleep with 5,000 women over the course of his life.
He is accused of trying to drag a woman into a toilet cubicle at the MTV Europe office where she worked in 2001. Three years later, another woman said that he pulled her into a toilet cubicle in a bar and then committed an act of oral rape.
Around the same time — in 2004 or 2005 — a woman who worked for a media company reported that he engaged in sexual activity with her without her consent in her office.
The fifth complainant — one of his fans — said that in 2009 she had consensual sex with him at his home, but that he then raped her anally, the prosecutor said. The sixth complainant, who worked for Channel 4, alleges that Brand demanded a massage from her that same year and then pressed his face against her groin.
During police questioning, Brand refused to answer questions but provided a written statement in which he said that he did not remember the incidents and had never engaged in sexual activity without his partner’s consent, although he admitted having sex in toilet cubicles during parties, Karmi-Jones said.
According to the prosecutor, the women involved in the case did not know one another and had not reported the matter to police at the time for various reasons, but decided to make their complaints after a television programme aired and a newspaper article was published in 2023, in which other women made anonymous allegations.
Brand sat in the dock wearing a dark suit and a thin white scarf, staring intently ahead.
The trial, which is expected to last around six weeks, has attracted enormous media attention: an additional courtroom was opened to accommodate more journalists, and numerous media outlets launched daily podcasts.
The comedian, known for his outrageous style and appearance, rose to popularity in Britain before he began appearing in films—including the 2010 movie "Get Him to the Greek"; that same year, he married Perry. They divorced in 2012.
Recently, Brand has taken part in online broadcasts discussing U.S. politics, religion, and freedom of speech.