Latest news with #ForgettingSarahMarshall
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Russell Brand pleads not guilty to rape and sexual assault charges as U.K. trial gets date
British comedian Russell Brand remained firm this week in denying he sexually assaulted four women from 1999 to 2005. The controversial "Get Him to the Greek" actor, 49, appeared in a London court on Friday and pleaded not guilty to two counts of rape, two counts of sexual assault and one count of indecent assault. Brand, who was charged in April, said "not guilty" after each count was read in Southwark Crown Court. A legal representative for Brand did not immediately respond to The Times' request for comment on Friday. Brand, who is best known for starring in raunchy comedies including "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," "Rock of Ages" and "Arthur," entered his not guilty plea months after U.K. authorities announced its counts against the comedian. Read more: Russell Brand denies allegations after U.K charges him with rape and sexual assault The charges stem from four separate alleged incidents involving different women. Prosecutors allege Brand raped a woman in the English seaside area of Bournemouth in 1999. He also allegedly indecently assaulted a second woman in 2001, orally raped and sexually assaulted a third woman in 2004 and sexually assaulted the fourth woman between 2004 to 2005. The final three allegations occurred in Westminster, according to U.K. officials. At the time, Brand denied the allegations via social media. 'I was a fool before I lived in the light of the Lord. I was a drug addict, a sex addict and an imbecile. But what I never was was a rapist. I've never engaged in nonconsensual activities," he said in a video shared to Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). "I pray you can tell that by looking in my eyes.' Before he was charged, Brand faced previous allegations of rape and sexual assault in September 2023, when the Times of London published its joint investigation with 'Dispatches,' a news program on Britain's Channel 4. Several women came forward with allegations that Brand sexually assaulted them between 2006 and 2013. At the time, Brand refuted the 'very, very serious criminal allegations' and claimed he was being targeted by the 'mainstream media' because of his views. Since distancing himself from Hollywood, Brand in recent years has refashioned himself as an anti-establishment commentator and platformed conspiracy theories about vaccines and the 9/11 attacks. Read more: Russell Brand: Baptism is 'opportunity to leave the past behind' amid sexual assault allegations In November 2023, the actor was sued for sexual assault in New York by a woman who said she worked as an extra in Brand's 2011 film "Arthur." That same month, the BBC said it received multiple complaints about the risqué comedian relating to his workplace conduct when he hosted radio programs from 2006 to 2008. In recent years, Brand has also turned his focus to religion. In 2024, he doubled down on his commitment to Christianity and was baptized in the River Thames. At the time, he said it was "an opportunity to leave the past behind and be reborn in Christ's name.' As he arrived to court on Friday, Brand was seen clutching a copy of 'The Valley of Vision,' a collection of Puritan prayers. His trial is set to begin June 3, 2026, and is expected to last four to five weeks. Times staff writer Meredith Blake and the Associated Press contributed to this report. Get notified when the biggest stories in Hollywood, culture and entertainment go live. Sign up for L.A. Times entertainment alerts. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Russell Brand pleads not guilty to rape and sexual assault charges as U.K. trial gets date
British comedian Russell Brand remained firm this week in denying he sexually assaulted four women from 1999 to 2005. The controversial 'Get Him to the Greek' actor, 49, appeared in a London court on Friday and pleaded not guilty to two counts of rape, two counts of sexual assault and one count of indecent assault. Brand, who was charged in April, said 'not guilty' after each count was read in Southwark Crown Court. A legal representative for Brand did not immediately respond to The Times' request for comment on Friday. Brand, who is best known for starring in raunchy comedies including 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall,' 'Rock of Ages' and 'Arthur,' entered his not guilty plea months after U.K. authorities announced its counts against the comedian. The charges stem from four separate alleged incidents involving different women. Prosecutors allege Brand raped a woman in the English seaside area of Bournemouth in 1999. He also allegedly indecently assaulted a second woman in 2001, orally raped and sexually assaulted a third woman in 2004 and sexually assaulted the fourth woman between 2004 to 2005. The final three allegations occurred in Westminster, according to U.K. officials. At the time, Brand denied the allegations via social media. 'I was a fool before I lived in the light of the Lord. I was a drug addict, a sex addict and an imbecile. But what I never was was a rapist. I've never engaged in nonconsensual activities,' he said in a video shared to Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). 'I pray you can tell that by looking in my eyes.' Before he was charged, Brand faced previous allegations of rape and sexual assault in September 2023, when the Times of London published its joint investigation with 'Dispatches,' a news program on Britain's Channel 4. Several women came forward with allegations that Brand sexually assaulted them between 2006 and 2013. At the time, Brand refuted the 'very, very serious criminal allegations' and claimed he was being targeted by the 'mainstream media' because of his views. Since distancing himself from Hollywood, Brand in recent years has refashioned himself as an anti-establishment commentator and platformed conspiracy theories about vaccines and the 9/11 attacks. In November 2023, the actor was sued for sexual assault in New York by a woman who said she worked as an extra in Brand's 2011 film 'Arthur.' That same month, the BBC said it received multiple complaints about the risqué comedian relating to his workplace conduct when he hosted radio programs from 2006 to 2008. In recent years, Brand has also turned his focus to religion. In 2024, he doubled down on his commitment to Christianity and was baptized in the River Thames. At the time, he said it was 'an opportunity to leave the past behind and be reborn in Christ's name.' As he arrived to court on Friday, Brand was seen clutching a copy of 'The Valley of Vision,' a collection of Puritan prayers. His trial is set to begin June 3, 2026, and is expected to last four to five weeks. Times staff writer Meredith Blake and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
USA Today
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Russell Brand pleads not guilty to rape, sexual assault in UK court
Russell Brand pleads not guilty to rape, sexual assault in UK court Show Caption Hide Caption Actor Russell Brand charged with rape and sexual assault of four women The Metropolitan Police charged comedian Russell Brand with rape, indecent assault, oral rape and two counts of sexual assault. Russell Brand pleaded not guilty in a London court on Friday to charges of sexual assault and rape dating back to the late 1990s. Brand, a controversial comedian and podcast host, denied on May 30 all five criminal charges, which relate to four women more than two decades ago. The 49-year-old has consistently denied having nonconsensual sex since allegations were first aired two years ago. Brand, who previously gave his address as being in England but also lives in the U.S., is due to stand trial in June 2026. The comedian and actor was charged by London's Metropolitan Police last month with with rape, indecent assault, oral rape and two counts of sexual assault. Russell Brand charges include rape Detectives in the U.K. began investigating Brand in September 2023 after receiving a number of allegations, a release from authorities revealed at the time. Brand later took to Instagram to respond to the charges. "We're very fortunate in a way to live in a time where there's so little trust in the British government," he told followers in a video statement. "We're very fortunate, I suppose, that this is happening at a time where we know that the law has become a kind of weapon to be used against people." The charges stem from a series of alleged incidents in the late 1990s and early 2000s: a rape in 1999, an incidental assault in 2001, an oral rape and sexual assault in 2004 and another sexual assault between 2004 and 2005, according to Metropolitan Police. Who is Russell Brand? Brand, known for his comedy chops, starred in hit films like "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" and "Arthur," and he was briefly married to pop star Kary Perry before the pair filed for divorce in 2011. Long a controversial figure, Brand has fallen out of public grace amid reports of alleged rape and assaults. In the years since he has taken a religious turn, announcing plans last year to be baptized and using his social media to dip into conspiracy circles, spreading unfounded theories on topics ranging from 9/11 to the COVID vaccine. Russell Brand, Katy Perry and why women are expected to comment when men are accused of abuse "I've always told you guys that when I was young and single before I had my wife and family … I was a fool, man," Brand continued in his Instagram statement, saying he was a drug and sex addict and even an "imbecile," but never a rapist. "I've never engaged in nonconsensual activity, I pray that you can see that by looking in my eyes," the actor continued, saying he felt "grateful" he would have the opportunity to defend himself in court. Russell Brand rape, assault charges follow BBC apology The charges against Brand follow a formal apology given by the BBC to employees in January over its handling of harassment complaints against the comedian during his tenure at the network. The British news organization published the results of a review into Brand's conduct, revealing that power dynamics at play created a breeding ground for Brand's "unacceptable" behavior. Brand, who served as a presenter on BBC's 6 Music and Radio 2 between 2006 and 2008, first fell under scrutiny in 2023 after a spate of women accused the actor of emotional and sexual abuse. The accusations of wrongdoing at the BBC included Brand exposing his genitals to a woman in a bathroom shortly before recording a segment for his radio show in which he joked about the encounter. The woman was not a BBC employee but worked in the same building as the company's Los Angeles bureau. Another claim, made by a woman who said she had a three-month relationship with Brand when he was a presenter for Radio 6, alleges he used to have a car pick her up at school or her grandmother's house and bring her to his home. She was 16 at the time while Brand would have been in his 30s. "What is clear is that many BBC staff and freelancers, especially in more junior roles, found Russell Brand demanding and difficult to work with and his behavior extreme, but all felt that there was no point in complaining as they believed they would not be listened to and, rightly or wrongly, that Russell Brand as a high-profile presenter had the support of the station management," wrote Peter Johnston, the BBC Director of Editorial Complaints and Reviews. If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence, RAINN's National Sexual Assault Hotline offers free, confidential, 24/7 support to survivors and their loved ones in English and Spanish at: (4673) and and en Español Contributing: Sam Tobin, Reuters
New Statesman
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- New Statesman
Russell Brand's transatlantic trial
Photo byThere are two Russell Brands. One, the British comedian with a cockney lilt and spidery limbs; he cracks wise on Never Mind the Buzzcocks in 2011, a gothic jester; he organises anti-austerity protests and routs Jeremy Paxman on Newsnight; he's terribly concerned about the bankers, the bonuses, the bankers..; he guest edited an issue of this magazine in 2013. The other is his more recent incarnation. A stint in Hollywood – Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Get Him to the Greek – preceded the transformation of this left-populist raconteur into a new-age guru. His concerns about the bankers never went away, but were turbo-charged with new anxieties: mainstream media, the Great Reset, vaccine injuries, the lying political establishment. A predictable Pokemon evolution for a man, already distrustful of authority, implanting himself into the ecosystem of a nascent New American Right. Both Brands sat in the dock in Southwark Crown Court at 1030am on 30 May – black shirt unbuttoned below the sternum, jeans as skinny as they were in 2008, the customary ombre-lensed aviators in hand – and pleaded not guilty to five charges of rape, sexual assault and indecent assault. Two of the incidents were alleged to have taken place at the MTV offices and Labour party conference, between 1999 and 2005. On the day he was charged he wrote 'I've never engaged in non-consensual activity… I'm now going to have an opportunity to defend these charges in court, and I'm incredibly grateful for that.' Brand, 49, will go to trial on 3 June 2026. Brand has long been shorthand for something much bigger than himself: once, a symbol for the excesses of noughties television; more recently, evidence of the right's quest for spirituality; now, the impassable gulf between the American right and establishment Britain. On 2 May, when Brand first appeared in Westminster Magistrates' Court, Tucker Carlson wrote: 'The entire case is transparently political and absurd… He has no shot at a fair trial, because Britain is no longer a free country.' In the same post Carlson contended that the once 'famous leftwing actor' was being penalised – via rape allegations – for criticising the government ('for using Covid to turn the UK into a totalitarian state'). That sounds familiar. During last year's summer riots America looked on and saw not just tensions spill out onto British streets, but an overweening state happily locking people up for tweeting in response. Senator Ted Cruz suggested 'nanny-state totalitarians' were destroying Britain. Elon Musk couldn't stop posting about Keir Starmer's 'Woke Stasi'. The basic line that the MAGA right have taken on Britain is that it is over: overwhelmed by demographic change, overlorded by left-wing petty tyrants, overcome by contradictions that are no longer possible to hide or wish away. To them, Brand is just another political prisoner. And so, in Britain Brand sits as a faded rockstar – a once sexy Marxist with one foot in the establishment – diminished as he runs to his shed in Oxford to prepare for an immense legal showdown. And in the imagination of the American right he sits behind the glass staring at the judge in Court 2 as a victim of an authoritarian state that imprisons people for much less than what he is accused of; a standard bearer for their worst suspicions about Labour's Britain; a martyr who handily already looks a lot like a bad picture of Jesus you might find in a Tennessee Sunday school. Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe Outside court there was a man I recognised from Brand's first court appearance – his green Krispy Kreme bucket hat and pink trainers made him hard to miss. There were a throng of confused spectating tourists too, stalled by the press pack. If there were fans present they made little attempt to reveal themselves. And so Brand walked through the crowd – flanked by a small entourage – and got in the car, in silence. Cognisant, you must imagine, that his friends are very far away. Related
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Russell Brand Pleads Not Guilty to Charges of Rape and Sexual Assault in London Court Hearing
Russell Brand has pleaded not guilty to charges of rape and sexual assault. The comedian and actor appeared at London's Southwark Crown Court on Friday for a hearing where he formally denied all five charges against him, including one allegation of rape, one allegation of indecent assault, one of oral rape and two further counts of sexual assault. The alleged incidents relate to four separate women in incidents that occurred between 1999 and 2005. More from Variety Russell Brand Granted Bail After First London Hearing Over Rape, Sexual Assault Charges as Judge Sends Case to Central Criminal Court Russell Brand Outtakes From 2011 Film 'Arthur' Reportedly Offered by Warner Bros. as Part of Civil Sexual Assault Case in New York Russell Brand Denies Rape Charges: 'I Was a Drug and Sex Addict' but 'I Never Was a Rapist' The 49-year-old will now face a trial, which due to court delays won't begin until June 3, 2026. Wearing sunglasses, an open pin-stripe shirt, jacket and skinny jeans, Brand arrived early Friday morning flanked by his lawyer Oliver Schneider-Sikorsky — who successful defended Kevin Spacey against sexual assault allegations in 2023. The hearing lasted a matter of minutes. Brand was charged by London's Metropolitan Police in early April following an investigation that began in September 2023. He first appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court on May 2, where the chief magistrate granted him bail and, due to the severity of the allegations, referred the case to London's Central Criminal Court. The venue was later changed to the Crown Court, where Spacey's trial took place two years earlier. After the charges were first brought, Brand — now living in the U.S. — took to his social media channels to deny the allegations, as he has since they first arose. 'When I was young and single, before I had my wife and family, I was a fool, was a fool before I lived in the light of the lord, I was a drug addict, sex addict and an imbecile,' he said in a video. 'But what I never was a rapist. I've never engaged in non-consensual activity. I pray that you can see that by looking in my eyes.' The Met investigation was first launched after the police received several allegations in the wake of a major investigation made by both Channel 4's 'Dispatches' documentary series and The Sunday Times. The 2023 expose saw Brand accused of 'rape, sexual assaults and emotional abuse.' A rep for the show said that 'Five women, four of whom asked to remain anonymous, agreed to share their stories of serious sexual allegations in the program.' The plea of not guilty plea at Southwark marks the next chapter for Brand. While his star-power had already dimmed long before the allegations came to light, he was a major figure on British TV and radio in the mid-2000s and would later find fame and fortune in the U.S. thanks to movies such as 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall' and 'Get Him to the Greek,' not to mention a high-profile if short-lived marriage to Katy Perry between 2010 and 2011. Since moving out of the mainstream limelight a decade ago, he began amassing a following online for his political views, first on the left-wing before shifting to the right, using his YouTube and Rumble channels to post about conspiracy theories, most notable connected to COVID, and offer his support for Donald Trump, whose inauguration he attended in January. Months after the expose ran in late 2023, Brand also converted to Christianity and has been outspoken about his new faith. Last year he prayed on stage with Tucker Carlson and later Jordan Petersen at events in the U.S. Earlier this month, Carlson went on social media to call for the Trump administration to 'rescue' Brand from what the rape and sexual assault charges he described as 'political and absurd.' Best of Variety What's Coming to Netflix in June 2025 New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week 'Harry Potter' TV Show Cast Guide: Who's Who in Hogwarts?
