The key facts
- Russell Brand faces seven charges across six incidents involving six women in 1999–2009; he has pleaded not guilty
- Prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones said the women do not know each other and came forward to police independently
- The first witness was Brand's former flatmate Mark Pineiro, who recounted Brand's words that he may have 'gone a bit too far' in 1999
Start of the trial
On Wednesday, 14 October 2026, the trial of 51-year-old actor and comedian Russell Brand began at Southwark Crown Court in London. He faces three counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault and one count of indecent assault. According to the prosecution, the incidents involve six women and took place between 1999 and 2009. Brand has pleaded not guilty to all counts and is on bail.
The prosecution's case
Prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones KC told the jury that the six women do not know each other, have never met and came forward with their complaints independently of one another. According to her, the assaults took place 'in a hotel room, at workplaces, in the toilet cubicle of a bar and at Brand's home'. She described him as 'ruthless, calculating, manipulative' and called him a 'sexual predator', adding that during that period he had an 'indiscriminate and insatiable' desire for sexual contact and that 'women were simply a means to an end'. The prosecutor also noted that Brand could be charming and funny when he wanted something, while also being demanding and 'childishly certain that all his wishes should be fulfilled', and after the incidents appeared indifferent and unconcerned.
Circumstances of the incidents
The jury was told the details of six incidents. According to the prosecution, the first complainant met Brand before his fame in 1999 at a Labour Party conference, where he later raped her. The second worked at MTV and claims Brand indecently assaulted her near the toilets, grabbing her forearm. The third alleges oral rape in a toilet after meeting him at a party in 2004, and also that Brand exposed himself in a car. The fourth claims that in 2004 or 2005 at Capital Radio he pinned her against a wall and aggressively kissed and touched her. The fifth met him at a performance at the Hammersmith Apollo in 2009: according to the prosecution, an encounter that began by mutual consent later ended in anal rape. The sixth alleges a sexual assault in 2009, when Brand, according to the prosecution, demanded a massage and knelt down, pressing his head into her groin area.
Brand's responses and the first witness
According to the prosecution, during a police interview in 2023 Brand said he had never engaged in sexual contact without consent, and that the relevant accounts had been 'reinterpreted or fabricated' after a documentary and subsequent press publications. Regarding the first incident, he said, according to the prosecution, that if it did happen, he did not remember the incident. On Wednesday, the first witness was Brand's former flatmate Mark Pineiro. He said Brand told him that he may have 'gone a bit too far' with a woman during a visit to a Labour Party conference in 1999. Under cross-examination, Pineiro confirmed he was sure of those exact words.
Brand's reaction and context
Brand arrived at court on Wednesday accompanied by his wife Laura, surrounded by a large number of photographers and videographers. He told journalists he feels 'blessed', adding: 'I am certainly concerned, but I hope this process leads to good outcomes for everyone involved. That is my prayer.' The hearings are expected to last about six weeks.
Brand's career
Brand was born into a working-class family in Essex and began his career as a stand-up comedian in his teens. He became widely known as a television presenter on MTV, Channel 4 and the BBC, hosted shows such as Big Brother's Big Mouth and radio shows on BBC Radio 2 and 6 Music, published newspaper columns and two autobiographies. He then appeared in Hollywood, including in the films 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall', 'Get Him to the Greek' and 'Tower Heist' (according to euronews, the 2010 comedy 'Get Him to the Greek' brought him fame), and was also in a short but widely covered marriage to American singer Katy Perry. In recent years Brand has lived in Florida, doing podcasts and blogs on politics, religion and free speech; he has 6 million subscribers on YouTube, 10.1 million on X and 4.9 million on Instagram.
