The comedian took the witness stand at Southwark Crown Court, telling jurors that no one agreed to testify on his behalf.
Actor and comedian Russell Brand took the witness stand Wednesday at Southwark Crown Court in London, denying every allegation of rape and sexual assault made against him. Brand, 51, entered the witness box wearing a suit and tie as his defense team began presenting its case.
Earlier in the proceedings, the trial heard testimony from the fourth accuser, who told jurors that Brand assaulted her at a radio station in the mid-2000s. The prosecution rested its case Wednesday morning after presenting two weeks of testimony, Variety reported.
Testimony from the witness box
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. All complainants have automatic lifelong anonymity under British law. When defense barrister Ian Winter KC went through the indictment and asked Brand if he had committed each offense, Brand answered no to every charge, the BBC reported.
Under questioning from his lawyer, Brand revealed that not one person agreed to testify on his behalf in the trial. Winter asked if any acquaintances were willing to appear in court to support him, and Brand replied that they weren’t.
“My entire life has been consumed by these allegations,” Brand told the jury.
Winter questioned Brand about the effect of a 2023 television documentary by Channel 4’s Dispatches and reporting in The Sunday Times that prompted the police investigation. Asked how it felt when friends and colleagues turned away, Brand said, “It was devastating.”
Responses to the accusations
Brand addressed several of the specific allegations while answering questions from his defense team and prosecutors, CBS News reported.
One woman accused Brand of raping her in a hotel room during the 1999 Labour Party conference in Bournemouth after a comedy gig. Brand testified that he remembered meeting the woman and found her interesting, but denied raping her. He said she suggested going to the hotel room and denied presenting himself as gay. He said he believed he checked in during their encounter and stated that consent is necessary and more important than sex itself.
Another woman alleged that Brand grabbed her forearm and tried to pull her toward a bathroom while she worked at MTV in 2001. Brand said he only visited those offices between two and five times and did not recall meeting her or trying to engage in nonconsensual acts.
A third woman accused Brand of grabbing her breasts in a Soho bar in 2004 and forcing her into a toilet cubicle to perform oral sex. Brand recalled meeting her for under a minute before going to fool around. He denied grabbing her breasts, called such behavior disgusting, and said she went into the cubicle consensually.
Regarding a 2009 allegation of anal rape in Hampstead following a performance at the Hammersmith Apollo, Brand testified that the encounter was consensual. He said he saw no sign the woman was in pain. When asked about a message where she accused him of treating her like an animal and he responded with an apology, Brand testified he didn’t recall the text but would have been apologizing for her dissatisfaction.
The fallout and defense arguments
Brand argued that the accusations followed a coordinated media effort after he gained a following as an online wellness influencer and political commentator, The Hollywood Reporter reported. He acknowledged that he had lived promiscuously during the years covered by the charges, but insisted all of his intimate encounters were consensual.
Brand said the 2023 documentary damaged his personal and professional life. His talent agency dropped him, scheduled comedy performances were canceled, and YouTube demonetized his channel. He told the jury that hospital officials barred him from being with his son during open heart surgery at Great Ormond Street hospital in London due to the publicity surrounding the claims.
What happens next
On Tuesday, Justice Bennathan reduced one of the charges against Brand from indecent assault to attempted indecent assault. The judge informed the jury that there was insufficient evidence to support the full charge regarding the 2001 MTV incident.
Brand’s legal team will continue setting out its defense as the trial continues on Thursday.
