Brand takes the stand
Russell Brand testified on Wednesday at his trial in London, according to CBS News. The 51-year-old faces three counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault and one charge of attempted indecent assault. The allegations come from six women and cover a period between 1999 and 2009. Brand has pleaded not guilty.
CBS News reported that he began the morning by answering questions about each charge with a terse "no." During initial questioning he said, "My entire life has been consumed by these allegations." Headlines from Reuters, the BBC and Variety, cited in the same coverage, described him telling the court that the allegations cost him friends and colleagues and that no one agreed to testify on his behalf.
Under cross-examination, Brand said he was innocent. He said he believes he behaved promiscuously in the years in question but maintained that "consent is absolutely non-negotiable."
His account of the allegations
One woman alleges Brand raped her in her hotel room after they met at a Labour Party conference in 1999. She says she thought he was gay and invited him to continue a conversation that began after a cabaret show. Brand said he remembers meeting her and chatting. Asked whether he portrayed himself as gay, he said, "I don't think so." He said she was the one who suggested going to her room, and he denied raping her. He told the court he believes "consent is fundamental, essential, necessary, and in many ways, more important than sex itself."
A second woman, who worked at MTV in 2001 when Brand was also employed there, says he grabbed her forearm hard while she showed him where the bathrooms were and said "come in, go on, come in." Brand said he was at those offices "between two and five times," does not recall meeting her and does not recall taking her by the arm or attempting nonconsensual sexual activity.
A third woman alleges he grabbed her breasts and orally raped her in a London bar in July 2004. Brand denied it. He told police in 2024 that he "had no memory of meeting" her, but testified that he later revisited the location and recalled an encounter. He said watching her video interview with police helped his memory. Prosecutors asked whether he waited to see the interviews in order to "structure his case" around them, and he said no.
The 2009 allegation
A fourth woman alleges Brand anally raped her in 2009 and then forced her to clean blood and feces from the bed sheets. Prosecutors say she had a threesome with Brand backstage at London's Hammersmith Apollo Theatre before going to his home for consensual sex.
Brand confirmed that the two had anal sex and other forms of penetration. He recalled being "excited and enthusiastic" about what he called a "kinky" experience, and said she consented. He said he had no indication she was in pain and that she did not ask him to stop. He added that a full-time housekeeper would have cleaned the sheets.
The woman says she later messaged Brand accusing him of treating her "like an animal," and that he replied "sorry." Brand said he does not recall the exchange but that he would have been apologizing for her "expressed dissatisfaction."
The documentary and the fallout
Under cross-examination, Brand blamed a Channel 4 Dispatches documentary for the allegations and said he believes the media have been unfair to him. Before the program aired, he posted a video denying the claims. In it he again acknowledged being promiscuous but said his relationships were "absolutely, always consensual." He suggested the reports were a coordinated attack linked to his newfound prominence as an online wellness influencer and political commentator.
The women featured in the documentary said they felt ready to share their stories only after reporters approached them, and some cited Brand's online fame as a factor in speaking out. Since the allegations surfaced, Brand's YouTube channel has been demonetized, his talent agency dropped him and scheduled performances were canceled, according to CBS News.
