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Japan Today
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Japan Today
Comedian Russell Brand denies rape and sex assault charges in UK court
British actor and comedian Russell Brand, who has been charged with rape and multiple counts of sex assault, appears at Southwark Crown Court, in London, Britain, May 30, 2025. REUTERS/Isabel Infantes British actor and comedian Russell Brand pleaded not guilty in a London court on Friday to charges of rape and sexual assault relating to four women more than two decades ago. Brand, once one of Britain's most high-profile broadcasters and former husband of U.S. pop singer Katy Perry, appeared at Southwark Crown Court and denied all five criminal charges. The 49-year-old has consistently denied having non-consensual sex since allegations were first aired two years ago. British prosecutors announced in April that Brand had been charged with two counts of rape, one count of indecent assault, and two counts of sexual assault against four women between 1999 and 2005. 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. He spoke only to confirm his name and enter his five not guilty pleas, before leaving the court with his lawyer and some companions. PREVIOUS DENIAL After the charges were first announced, Brand said in a video posted on social media that in his younger days, before getting married and having children, he had been a fool and a sex addict but "what I never was, was a rapist". In the 2000s, Brand was a regular on British screens, known for his flamboyant style and appearance. He worked for the BBC and starred in a number of films including "Get Him to the Greek" before marrying Perry in 2010. They divorced 14 months later. By the early 2020s, he had faded from mainstream culture, appearing primarily on his internet channel where he airs his views on U.S. politics and free speech. In September 2023, the Sunday Times and Channel 4 TV's "Dispatches" show reported allegations of sex offenses against him. Police began investigating some weeks later. Brand, who said last year he had become a Christian, rejected those accusations. © Thomson Reuters 2025.
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.
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
The Advertiser
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Advertiser
Actor Russell Brand pleads not guilty to rape charges
British actor and comedian Russell Brand has pleaded not guilty in a London court to charges of rape and sexual assault relating to four women more than two decades ago. Brand, once one of Britain's most high-profile broadcasters and former husband of US pop singer Katy Perry, appeared at Southwark Crown Court on Friday and denied all five criminal charges. The 49-year-old has consistently denied having non-consensual sex since allegations were first aired two years ago. British prosecutors announced in April that Brand had been charged with two counts of rape, one count of indecent assault, and two counts of sexual assault against four women between 1999 and 2005. Brand, who previously gave his address as being in England but also lives in the US, is due to stand trial in June 2026. He spoke only to confirm his name and enter his five not guilty pleas, before leaving the court with his lawyer and some companions. After the charges were first announced, Brand said in a video posted on social media that in his younger days, before getting married and having children, he had been a fool and a sex addict but "what I never was, was a rapist". In the 2000s, Brand was a regular on British screens, known for his flamboyant style and appearance. He worked for the BBC and starred in a number of films including Get Him to the Greek before marrying Perry in 2010. They divorced 14 months later. By the early 2020s, he had faded from mainstream culture, appearing primarily on his internet channel where he airs his views on US politics and free speech. In September 2023, the Sunday Times and Channel 4 TV's Dispatches show reported allegations of sex offences against him. Police began investigating some weeks later. Brand, who said in 2024 he had become a Christian, rejected those accusations. British actor and comedian Russell Brand has pleaded not guilty in a London court to charges of rape and sexual assault relating to four women more than two decades ago. Brand, once one of Britain's most high-profile broadcasters and former husband of US pop singer Katy Perry, appeared at Southwark Crown Court on Friday and denied all five criminal charges. The 49-year-old has consistently denied having non-consensual sex since allegations were first aired two years ago. British prosecutors announced in April that Brand had been charged with two counts of rape, one count of indecent assault, and two counts of sexual assault against four women between 1999 and 2005. Brand, who previously gave his address as being in England but also lives in the US, is due to stand trial in June 2026. He spoke only to confirm his name and enter his five not guilty pleas, before leaving the court with his lawyer and some companions. After the charges were first announced, Brand said in a video posted on social media that in his younger days, before getting married and having children, he had been a fool and a sex addict but "what I never was, was a rapist". In the 2000s, Brand was a regular on British screens, known for his flamboyant style and appearance. He worked for the BBC and starred in a number of films including Get Him to the Greek before marrying Perry in 2010. They divorced 14 months later. By the early 2020s, he had faded from mainstream culture, appearing primarily on his internet channel where he airs his views on US politics and free speech. In September 2023, the Sunday Times and Channel 4 TV's Dispatches show reported allegations of sex offences against him. Police began investigating some weeks later. Brand, who said in 2024 he had become a Christian, rejected those accusations. British actor and comedian Russell Brand has pleaded not guilty in a London court to charges of rape and sexual assault relating to four women more than two decades ago. Brand, once one of Britain's most high-profile broadcasters and former husband of US pop singer Katy Perry, appeared at Southwark Crown Court on Friday and denied all five criminal charges. The 49-year-old has consistently denied having non-consensual sex since allegations were first aired two years ago. British prosecutors announced in April that Brand had been charged with two counts of rape, one count of indecent assault, and two counts of sexual assault against four women between 1999 and 2005. Brand, who previously gave his address as being in England but also lives in the US, is due to stand trial in June 2026. He spoke only to confirm his name and enter his five not guilty pleas, before leaving the court with his lawyer and some companions. After the charges were first announced, Brand said in a video posted on social media that in his younger days, before getting married and having children, he had been a fool and a sex addict but "what I never was, was a rapist". In the 2000s, Brand was a regular on British screens, known for his flamboyant style and appearance. He worked for the BBC and starred in a number of films including Get Him to the Greek before marrying Perry in 2010. They divorced 14 months later. By the early 2020s, he had faded from mainstream culture, appearing primarily on his internet channel where he airs his views on US politics and free speech. In September 2023, the Sunday Times and Channel 4 TV's Dispatches show reported allegations of sex offences against him. Police began investigating some weeks later. Brand, who said in 2024 he had become a Christian, rejected those accusations. British actor and comedian Russell Brand has pleaded not guilty in a London court to charges of rape and sexual assault relating to four women more than two decades ago. Brand, once one of Britain's most high-profile broadcasters and former husband of US pop singer Katy Perry, appeared at Southwark Crown Court on Friday and denied all five criminal charges. The 49-year-old has consistently denied having non-consensual sex since allegations were first aired two years ago. British prosecutors announced in April that Brand had been charged with two counts of rape, one count of indecent assault, and two counts of sexual assault against four women between 1999 and 2005. Brand, who previously gave his address as being in England but also lives in the US, is due to stand trial in June 2026. He spoke only to confirm his name and enter his five not guilty pleas, before leaving the court with his lawyer and some companions. After the charges were first announced, Brand said in a video posted on social media that in his younger days, before getting married and having children, he had been a fool and a sex addict but "what I never was, was a rapist". In the 2000s, Brand was a regular on British screens, known for his flamboyant style and appearance. He worked for the BBC and starred in a number of films including Get Him to the Greek before marrying Perry in 2010. They divorced 14 months later. By the early 2020s, he had faded from mainstream culture, appearing primarily on his internet channel where he airs his views on US politics and free speech. In September 2023, the Sunday Times and Channel 4 TV's Dispatches show reported allegations of sex offences against him. Police began investigating some weeks later. Brand, who said in 2024 he had become a Christian, rejected those accusations.
