Russell Brand says documentary damaged his life and relationships
Developing story first seen 3 hours ago
Russell Brand has begun giving evidence for his defence at Southwark Crown Court, saying a 2023 documentary about allegations against him had a “devastating” impact on his life and relationships. He denies all the charges he faces.
Brand, 51, is accused of three counts of rape, three of sexual assault and one of attempted indecent assault, relating to six women and alleged events between 1999 and 2009. He told the court consent was essential and denied the allegations, including claims concerning a 1999 Labour Party conference and encounters in London in 2001 and 2004. He also said he was barred from staying with his son during the child’s heart surgery at Great Ormond Street Hospital because of published material.
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In short
- Brand has started giving evidence in his defence.
- He denies seven charges relating to six women.
- He says a documentary had a devastating personal impact.
How this story developed
- 1 hour ago Brand added that friends and colleagues had turned against him and said the allegations had consumed his life, while again denying the offences and describing consent as fundamental.
- 2 hours ago Russell Brand began giving evidence at Southwark Crown Court, denying seven charges linked to allegations by six women between 1999 and 2009, and said a 2023 documentary had severely affected his life and relationships.
- The Hollywood Reporter Russell Brand Trial: Star Takes the Stand and Tells Court No One Will Touch Him “With a Bargepole”
- BBC Entertainment Russell Brand says documentary damaged his life and relationships
Full account
Russell Brand told Southwark Crown Court that a 2023 documentary about allegations against him had a “devastating” effect on his life and relationships. He said friends and colleagues had turned their backs on him and that he had been unable to persuade anyone with relevant evidence to testify for the defence. Asked whether anyone would “touch [him] with a bargepole”, he replied: “No.”
Brand is giving evidence as his defence case begins. He denies three counts of rape, three of sexual assault and one of attempted indecent assault. Six women allege offences between 1999 and 2009. The final charge was reduced from indecent assault to attempted indecent assault on Tuesday, according to one report. Brand told the court that his life had been consumed by the allegations and said consent was fundamental, “in many ways more important than sex itself”.
Questioned about individual allegations, Brand acknowledged meeting some of the complainants but denied the alleged offences. In one account, he recalled being introduced to a woman at a London bar party in 2004 and said he might have told her she was “really, really beautiful”. She alleges he grabbed her breasts, took her to a toilet and raped her. Brand rejected the allegation. The reports also describe allegations relating to a 1999 encounter in Bournemouth and an incident in 2009; Brand denies criminal wrongdoing.
The first report focuses on the effect Brand says the documentary had on his personal relationships and recounts his claim that Great Ormond Street Hospital barred him from being with his son during open-heart surgery, citing published material. The second gives more detail about the prosecution’s allegations and the start of the defence case, including Brand’s remarks about his marriage to Katy Perry and fame. Both reports describe his lack of defence witnesses and his response on consent, but differ in the detail they provide about the alleged incidents.
Where outlets differ
From the full account, which is AI-written from the sources:
The first report includes Brand’s claim that he and his wife were told he could not stay with their son at Great Ormond Street Hospital after the documentary and newspaper investigation; the second does not mention this.
The second report says the judge reduced the final charge from indecent assault to attempted indecent assault on Tuesday, and supplies more detail about the prosecution’s allegations and Brand’s comments on marriage and fame. The first does not include those details.
The accounts describe the 1999 allegation differently: the first places it at the Labour Party conference in Bournemouth, while the second says it followed a comedy performance and took place in a hotel room.
The first report ends partway through Brand’s answer to the allegation about the 2004 incident; the second gives his response as “Absolutely not” to whether he grabbed the complainant’s breasts.
Explained simply
Russell Brand is a British comedian, actor and broadcaster who became widely known through television, films and radio. The allegations in this case concern events said to have taken place between 1999 and 2009.
Six women have made allegations against Brand, and he faces charges including rape and sexual assault. He denies all the charges, which are being considered by a jury at Southwark Crown Court. The case matters because the jury must decide whether the alleged offences have been proved.
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Originally published by BBC Entertainment as “Russell Brand tells court allegations had devastating impact on him”.