The British actor is accused of three alleged rapes, three alleged sexual assaults and one alleged indecent exposure to a non-consenting person against six women. The alleged events occurred from 1999 to 2009 in different places. Brand, currently out on bail, has pleaded not guilty to all offences
“Ruthless, calculating and manipulative, a seducer with an indiscriminate sexual appetite, voracious and childish in demanding that his every desire be satisfied.” On 14 October 2026, at Southwark Crown Court in London, prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones KC thus defined the British actor Russell Brand, 51, accused of three alleged rapes, three alleged sexual assaults and an alleged obscene act on a non-consenting person against six women (protected by anonymity for life) who, as explained in the opening statement, "did not know each other, had never met" and “they came forward independently of each other.”
The alleged events occurred over a period of 10 years, from 1999 to 2009, in different places, which would include a hotel room, the bathroom of a bar, some work environments and the home of the Brand himself. The jury, selected on October 13, 2026, is made up of eight men and four women. The comedian, who is currently free on bail and who appeared hand in hand with his wife Laura Gallacher at the opening of the trial where he is accused, has declared himself "not guilty" of all the crimes.
“I feel blessed,” he commented before entering court in a black suit, pinstripe shirt, white tie and sunglasses. “Obviously I am worried, but confident that this process will lead to good outcomes for everyone: this is my prayer.” As the BBC later reported, in the courtroom Brand remained impassive in his seat for the entire duration of the hearing, rubbing what looked like a stone in his hands. The process is expected to take about six weeks.
"Some of the women involved protested and said no, others had no opportunity to protest or react to his advances, but this made no difference to the defendant. Regardless of who they were and what they said or did, Russell Brand was not deterred," said prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones KC. "His desire, a very strong desire, for some form of sexual contact was indiscriminate and voracious. He could be kind when he wanted - undoubtedly funny, charming, pleasant even when he demanded something in return, but then he became demanding, pretentious, a womanizer with an enormous sexual appetite, childish in the expectation that his every desire would be satisfied."
In essence, “he was ruthless, calculating and manipulative, and the indictment alleges he was a sexual predator.” The actor allegedly confided to a former friend, Mark Pinheiro, that he wanted to sleep with 5,000 women in his life and that he had strategies to achieve this goal. “All you have to do is tell them what they need to hear,” she would tell him. Furthermore, according to the prosecution, after an alleged assault Brand appeared "indifferent". As reported by BBC News, the prosecutor stated that "sometimes she left immediately after the incident, sometimes making an excuse to leave or sometimes she simply continued as if nothing had happened."
The first alleged victim allegedly first met Russell Brand in 1999, when she was in her 20s, at the Labor Party conference in Bornemouth. The woman would have thought that the actor was gay. Later, in her hotel room, she would go to the bathroom, and in the meantime she would invite him to make herself a cup of tea. Once she went out, however, she would have found him "partially undressed", while he was hopping "like an ostrich".
The prosecution claimed that Brand then attacked her. The alleged victim then "lost consciousness, aware that she could do nothing, while he lowered her trousers and underwear, penetrated her vagina with his penis, raping her". At the time, the woman would not have reported the alleged facts due to the actor's "notoriety", something she "now bitterly regrets". After the interrogation, Brand did not remember his name or the alleged incident, but he still insisted that he had never committed "non-consensual activities".
The second alleged victim is said to be a woman who was around 30 years old in 2001 and worked for MTV. Russell Brand allegedly asked her for directions to the bathrooms, where he then asked her to enter. Immediately afterwards he grabbed her forearm, but the woman struggled. However, he would not report the alleged incident until 2023.
The third alleged victim met Brand at a party in Soho in 2004, where he grabbed her breast while they were talking. With a “big, strange smile on his face,” the actor then dragged her into the bathrooms, where he orally raped her.
The fourth alleged victim instead suffered violence around 2004-2005 at Capital Radio. Brand allegedly pushed her against a wall and kissed her "aggressively", grabbing her "body, breasts, hips and buttocks". The woman then tried to push him away, but he was "too strong" and continued. When she managed to push him away, he would “giggle like it was a joke.”
Again, the fifth alleged victim met Brand in 2009 while he was performing at the Hammersmith Apollo in London. The two allegedly began consensual sexual intercourse, using a condom. However, he later removed it and, despite her requests to stop, anally raped the woman, who then "spent months and years blaming herself for what had happened, becoming extremely anxious and continuing to feel bad as a result." The following summer, the alleged victim saw the actor at a work event and ran away. Later, he would write to her. “You treated me like an animal,” she allegedly replied. “I'm sorry,” he would have replied.
According to the prosecution, during the police interrogation about the alleged incident, Brand then provided a previously prepared statement: “He stated that he had never had non-consensual sexual intercourse and that any version of events had been reinvented or invented following a defamatory documentary and subsequent press articles.”
The sixth alleged victim was allegedly asked by the actor for a massage while at work in 2009. “She said no, but they told her she had to,” Karmy-Jones said. The woman then filed a complaint and "the matter reached higher levels", but in the end "it was not taken seriously". In 2023 he finally reported the alleged incident. When questioned by the police, Brand responded to the questions with the same statement he had previously made. Now the defense will present their arguments in the coming weeks.
