The key facts
- 51-year-old Russell Brand denies seven charges: three rapes, three sexual assaults and one indecent assault; the allegations from six women span 1999–2009
- The complainant said that after the alleged rape in Bournemouth in 1999 she felt 'dirty', feared pregnancy and delayed going to police out of fear for her career
- Under cross-examination, barrister Ian Winter KC suggested the woman willingly accepted Brand's attention; she rejected this, saying she believed he was gay and felt safe
Testimony at Southwark Crown Court
A woman who claims Russell Brand raped her in a hotel room gave evidence at Southwark Crown Court on Thursday, 15 October 2026. The 51-year-old actor and comedian denies seven charges — three counts of rape, three sexual assaults and one indecent assault. The allegations from six women span a ten-year period from 1999 to 2009. Brand has pleaded not guilty and says any sexual contact, if it occurred, was consensual.
Description of the alleged assault
The complainant said she met Brand before his fame at the Labour Party conference in Bournemouth in 1999. She said that when they met she believed he was gay — 'camp, friendly and effeminate' — and felt safe with him. She said that when she came out of the bathroom of the hotel room, she saw him in his underwear, and that he then, in her account, made her photograph herself with a bare torso — these photographs were shown to the jury. The woman described a sharp change in his behaviour: 'He suddenly changed... from camp, friendly and effeminate into monstrous.' She said she felt threatened and did not believe his intentions were kind.
Aftermath and going to the police
According to the woman, after Brand left she sat and cried, feeling 'dirty' and 'stupid', and blamed herself for what happened. She said she had nightmares about a possible pregnancy. She put off going to the police for years: 'I was told that if you talk about it, your career is over.' She also said she did not report to police in Bournemouth because she 'didn't think anyone would believe me'. A police interview with her, recorded in 2023, was played to the jury; during its playback Brand looked at a screen by the dock and barely took his eyes off it.
Cross-examination
Brand's barrister Ian Winter KC suggested that when they met the woman willingly accepted his attention and 'fell under his charm'. She replied: 'I accepted his company, not what followed,' and said she did not find him attractive. Asked why she agreed to go to the hotel room, she said she believed Brand was gay and felt 'sexually safe' with him. The defence also asked why she did not run into the bathroom or leave the room; the woman replied that she had no phone and did not know where she was. She admitted she blames herself for letting him back into the room and said: 'I hate that I blamed myself, I shouldn't have blamed myself.'
Trial context
The trial is expected to last six weeks. Brand rose to fame as a stand-up comedian, hosted television shows including Big Brother's Big Mouth and programmes on BBC Radio 2 and 6 Music, then built a career in Hollywood, appearing in the films Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Get Him to the Greek. In recent years he has been podcasting and lives in Florida, USA. The BBC is running the podcast Fame Under Fire: Russell Brand on Trial with daily coverage of the trial.
Image source, Reuters
Image source, Metropolitan Police/PA Media
The jury were shown an image the woman said she took of Brand before the alleged assault
Image source, Julia Quenzler
During the video evidence, Russell Brand watched the tv screen attached to the dock - rarely taking his eyes away
Image source, Julia Quenzler
Brand's barrister, Ian Winter KC questioned the woman, who was sitting behind a screen
