Russell Brand Tells Jury He “Misused” Fame but Denies Rape as He Takes the Stand

LONDON — Russell Brand told a London jury on Wednesday that he had allowed his fame “to facilitate sexual access” and had “dedicated” much of his life to “reckless philandering.” He denied raping or sexually assaulting any of the six women whose accusations brought him to trial.

Brand, 51, gave evidence at Southwark Crown Court on the 10th day of his trial. He faces three counts of rape, three of sexual assault and one of indecent assault. The charges involve allegations between 1999 and 2009 in London and Bournemouth. He has pleaded not guilty to all of them. The Guardian’s live coverage of Wednesday’s hearing describes the last count as attempted indecent assault.

“My entire life has been consumed by these allegations,” Brand told the court, according to The Guardian. He told jurors that consent was “fundamental, essential, necessary and, indeed, in many ways more important than sex itself.”

Under cross-examination by prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones KC, Brand admitted he had been “obsessed” with sex as a younger man but denied being unable to function without it. He said he had been “in a position of fame, a successful person” and had “misused that commodity foolishly” and “consensually.” He said he had been “very comfortable” letting it “facilitate sexual access,” and acknowledged that was “wrong.” He also told the court he had struggled to find anyone to give evidence on his behalf, calling the consequences of the September 2023 investigation by The Sunday Times, The Times and Channel 4’s “Dispatches” “devastating.”

Karmy-Jones questioned him about differences between a prepared statement he gave police and his account in court. Brand acknowledged inconsistencies. “Since these events occurred there’s been escalating recollection. It’s been a deeply traumatic episode of my life,” he said. “I’ve focused on it at the expense of my marriage, my children and health.” When the prosecutor said he had built his account around what the complainants had told police, he replied, “I disagree but I agree that you said it.”

He was also asked about a 2009 night backstage at the Hammersmith Apollo, when he had sex with two women. One of them later accused him of raping her at his home days afterward. Karmy-Jones suggested it showed Brand “never leaving without a conquest.” Brand replied, “That actually went down as quite a marvellous night by the criteria of the time.”

Brand finished his evidence Wednesday afternoon. The judge, Mr Justice Bennathan, sent jurors home, and the defense case is set to continue Thursday.

The trial opened with jury selection on Oct. 12. Bennathan told prospective jurors the case would take about six weeks but that they might need to be available until Dec. 11. “About three years ago there was a television programme and a long article in the Times newspaper in which some allegations were made against him of sexual misconduct,” the judge said. “They were allegations he firmly denied.” The complainants are entitled to lifelong anonymity under UK law.

In her Oct. 14 opening, Karmy-Jones called Brand “ruthless, calculated and manipulative.” She told jurors that the six women “did not know each other then and do not know each other now” and had “came forward independently of each other.” The prosecution says the allegations span a decade. They begin with a woman who says Brand raped her in a Bournemouth hotel room during the 1999 Labour Party conference. They also include a former MTV colleague who says he tried to force her into a toilet in 2001, and a woman who says he pulled her into a toilet at a Soho bar in 2004 and orally raped her. A radio station worker says he grabbed her face and groped her around 2004 or 2005. A woman who met him at the Hammersmith Apollo in early 2009 says he raped her at his Hampstead home, and a woman who worked at Channel 4 says he sexually assaulted her in 2009.

Brand’s defense is that all sexual contact was consensual. His lawyers say the accusers “reimagined” their encounters after seeing media reports of his alleged misconduct, according to The Guardian.

A former friend, Mark Pinheiro, testified on the first day that Brand told him after the Bournemouth trip, “I think I may have gone a bit too far.” Questioned about the reliability of his account, Pinheiro said, “I haven’t accused Russell of rape,” adding that he had “merely described Russell’s behaviour.”

On Oct. 21 the jury heard from the Hammersmith Apollo complainant, who was 21 at the time and gave evidence from behind a screen. She told police she was a “massive fan,” performed a consensual sex act on Brand backstage, and days later went to his three-story Victorian townhouse expecting to have vaginal sex. She alleged that after consensual vaginal sex he anally raped her. Months later, she said, he texted her: “You’re dirty and I wanna push you further.” She said she replied, “I think you’ve pushed me far enough, you treated me like an animal,” and he answered, “I’m sorry.”

Brand’s barrister, Ian Winter KC, told her she had consented and that Brand “probably had treated you like an animal, but he didn’t rape you.” “I didn’t consent,” she replied. “We’re not here to discuss my morality.”

The case reached this courtroom in two stages. In April 2025, the Crown Prosecution Service authorized five charges involving four women: one each of rape, oral rape and indecent assault, and two of sexual assault. Brand pleaded not guilty at Southwark Crown Court that May. In December 2025, prosecutors added a rape charge and a sexual assault charge involving two more women, both from 2009. Brand now lives in Florida. His wife, Laura Gallacher, has accompanied him to court.

Mark Groubert has covered the case twice. On Oct. 7, before jury selection, he made clear where he stood. “He’s being framed by the British government, in my humble opinion, for flipping sides and becoming an enemy of the state over there,” Groubert said. He did not back that view with evidence. The defense Brand’s lawyers have outlined in court rests on consent.

Groubert said he had advised Brand not to return to England from his home in Florida. He called the decision one of the most naive moves he had seen and predicted that Brand would not prevail in the current climate in the UK.

Groubert framed the case partly through Brand’s recovery. Brand has said he has been sober since 2002. In his 2017 book, “Recovery: Freedom From Our Addictions,” he reworked the 12 steps. Groubert described him as an admitted sex addict and drug addict. He argued that the prosecution was taking advantage of what Brand had revealed publicly about a private, anonymous program, and cautioned viewers to be careful about what they share.

On Oct. 21, Groubert read from coverage of that day’s testimony but said he would not walk through the full case. He said that, in his personal opinion, Brand is being railroaded, and noted that some of the allegations are close to 30 years old. The oldest dates to 1999. He predicted a bleak result. “This is all going to end very badly for Russell Brand. This will be the end of his career,” he said.

He returned to sobriety at the close of the segment, saying he hoped Brand stays sober through the trial. “He’s a recovering addict and recovering sex addict and I am rooting for him,” Groubert said.

Groubert said Brand faces 20 years in prison. That figure does not come from the court or from prosecutors’ public statements. No sentence would be considered unless the jury convicts.

The defense case continues Thursday at Southwark Crown Court.