Prosecutors at Southwark Crown Court called Russell Brand’s defense half-truths spun into lies. The defense presents its closing arguments on Monday.
Prosecutors in London urged jurors on Friday to reject Russell Brand’s testimony, calling the comedian’s account “a lot of half-truths, but spun into lies” during closing arguments at Southwark Crown Court.
Brand faces three counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault and one count of attempted indecent assault involving six women between 1999 and 2009. The Hollywood Reporter reported that the trial judge reduced an initial indecent assault charge to attempted indecent assault on Tuesday. Brand has pleaded not guilty to every charge, according to Variety.
What prosecutors told the jury
Lead prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones told the jury that the six accusers don’t know each other and didn’t seek publicity, compensation or the limelight. She argued the women only came forward to tell the truth after a 2023 documentary showed them they weren’t alone. During her speech, Karmy-Jones asked the jury to pause in silence for 20 seconds, representing the amount of time one woman said Brand took trying to pull her into a bathroom.
The prosecution argued that Brand treated women in the workplace as disposable commodities. Deadline reported that Karmy-Jones pointed to Brand’s 2017 appearance on The Wendy Williams Show, where he recalled viewing the world as an amusement park made of orgasms, to argue that he pursued sexual encounters whenever he wanted. Court proceedings were briefly interrupted during the closing speech when a member of the public fell asleep and began snoring in the gallery.
Karmy-Jones also addressed testimony from Brand’s wife, Laura Gallacher, who testified Thursday that he is a kind husband and wonderful father. The prosecutor noted Gallacher didn’t know Brand during most of the period covered by the indictment, having met him in 2006. Karmy-Jones told jurors that Brand claimed he couldn’t remember the encounters during early police interviews, but suddenly remembered many details when testifying in court.
Evidence heard during the trial
The trial stems from allegations first publicized in a 2023 documentary by Channel 4 and investigative reporting by The Times of London. All six complainants hold lifelong anonymity under British law.
The allegations cover incidents between 1999 and 2009. One woman said Brand raped her in a Bournemouth hotel room during the 1999 Labour Party conference. Another alleged Brand tried to force her into a bathroom at MTV in 2001. A third woman testified that Brand touched her breasts and orally raped her in a Soho bar bathroom in 2004. Earlier in the trial, a fourth accuser testified that Brand grabbed her and kissed her against a wall at Capital Radio. A fifth complainant said Brand anally raped her at his Hampstead residence in 2009 after consensual sex, while a sixth stated Brand demanded a massage and assaulted her that same year during a Channel 4 work project.
Earlier in the week, Brand denied the sexual offenses while testifying for four hours from the witness stand, telling jurors, “I’m innocent.” While maintaining that all sexual contact was consensual, Brand acknowledged that he used his fame to gain sexual access and said his past womanizing was reckless in retrospect.
What happens next
Judge Mr Justice Bennathan gave legal instructions to the jury on Friday before court adjourned for the week. He told jurors that the prosecution bears the burden of proof, Brand is entitled to the benefit of the doubt, and any conviction requires a unanimous verdict on each count.
The defense will present its closing arguments when the trial resumes on Monday. The judge told the court he expects the eight men and four women on the jury to begin deliberating their verdict on Tuesday.
