Russell Brand Takes the Stand at London Rape Trial, Denies All Charges

Russell Brand, 51, took the witness stand on Wednesday at Southwark Crown Court in London, where he faces three counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault and one charge of attempted indecent assault. Six women made the allegations, which span 1999 to 2009. Brand has pleaded not guilty to all charges, and all accusations remain allegations.

Asked whether he committed each offense, Brand answered "no." He told the court, "My entire life has been consumed by these allegations." Under cross-examination he said he was innocent. He acknowledged that he had been promiscuous during the period but said "consent is absolutely non-negotiable," describing it as more important than sex itself.

The first allegation dates to a Labour Party conference in 1999. A woman said she met Brand there, believed he was gay, and invited him to her hotel room after a cabaret show. She alleged he came out of the bathroom topless and raped her. Brand said he remembered chatting with her, denied presenting himself as gay, and said she suggested returning to her room. He denied rape.

A former MTV employee alleged that in 2001, while she showed Brand the bathrooms at the network's offices, he grabbed her forearm hard and pressed her to come in. Brand said he visited those offices only two to five times and did not recall meeting her or touching her. A third woman alleged that in July 2004, at a London bar, Brand groped her breasts and orally raped her. He denied it.

The most detailed testimony concerned a 2009 encounter. A woman alleged Brand anally raped her, leaving blood and feces on the sheets, and made her clean them. Prosecutors say the encounter followed a threesome backstage at London's Hammersmith Apollo Theatre, after which the two went to his home for consensual sex. Brand admitted anal sex and other penetration, said both parties were enthusiastic, and said she never indicated pain or asked him to stop. He said a full-time housekeeper would have cleaned the sheets.

His own earlier statements came under scrutiny. In 2024 Brand told police he had "no memory of meeting" one accuser. On the stand he said he later revisited the location and recalled the encounter, and that watching a police video interview of the accuser helped. Asked whether he tailored his account to the other women's interviews, he said no.

One accuser said she messaged Brand that he had treated her "like an animal," and that he replied "sorry." Brand said he did not recall the exchange but would have been apologizing for her dissatisfaction.

Brand blamed a Channel 4 Dispatches documentary for the allegations and said the media had treated him unfairly. Before it aired, he posted a video denying the claims. He suggested the accusations were a coordinated attack tied to his growing profile as an online wellness influencer and political commentator. The women in the documentary said they came forward after reporters approached them, and some cited his online fame as a factor. After the allegations surfaced, Brand's YouTube channel was demonetized, his talent agency dropped him, and scheduled performances were canceled. The trial continues, and no verdict has been reached.