Russell Brand Charged With Rape and Sexual Assault
Russell Brand is facing serious legal allegations.
The 49-year-old was charged with one count of rape, one count of oral rape, two counts of sexual assault and one count of indecent assault by the London Metropolitan Police for events that transpired between 1999 and 2005, Britain's Crown Prosecution Service announced April 4.
According to authorities, detectives began looking into Brand’s alleged crimes following investigations conducted by Channel 4 and The Sunday Times. The comedian allegedly raped one woman in the area of Bournmouth in 1999 and went on to assault three separate women between 2001 and 2005, authorities said.
Detectives noted that in addition to the reporting conducted by London news outlets, they also received a “number of allegations.”
“The women who have made reports continue to receive support from specially trained officers,” Metropolitan Police Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy, who is leading the investigation, said in a statement. “The Met's investigation remains open and detectives ask anyone who has been affected by this case, or anyone who has any information, to come forward and speak with police.”
Shortly before Channel 4 initially reported on the allegations against Brand in a 2023 documentary, the comedian-turned-wellness influencer denied what he called “very serious allegations” in a video shared to his social media accounts, previously saying that all prior relationships had been consensual.
Brand is set to appear in court regarding the charges May 2.
In the last several years, Brand—who is currently married to wife Laura Brand and was previously married to Katy Perry in the early 2010s—has transitioned from acting and comedy into a right wing, Christian influencer. However, he had previously opened up on his sex addiction that “threatened to ruin his career” in an essay for The Guardian in 2007.
“I haven't always treated women well—more than one relationship has collapsed because of my infidelity—but to this day I feel a fierce warmth for women who have the same disregard for the social conventions of sexual protocol as I do,” he wrote. “I love it when I meet a woman and her sexuality is dancing across her face, so it's apparent that all we need to do is nod and find a cupboard.”
eonline
