Russell Brand told police he never had sex without consent

At the trial at Southwark Crown Court in London, jurors heard that Russell Brand, in four police interviews between 2023 and 2025, denied any non-consensual sexual contact and called the allegations a fabrication. One count of indecent assault was dropped for lack of evidence but replaced with attempted indecent assault, to which Brand has also pleaded not guilty.

Aziz KarimovFirst published on tafs uz 28 October 2026 at 06:202 min read

The key facts

Brand gave four police interviews between 2023 and 2025, denying non-consensual sexual activity
The judge dropped one count of indecent assault for insufficient evidence; the jury received an amended indictment with a count of attempted indecent assault
The prosecution will conclude its speech on Wednesday, after which the defence is expected; Brand denies all seven counts

Brand's police interviews and the defence's position

Russell Brand, 51, admitted in police interviews, given on four occasions between 2023 and 2025, that he had led a 'very promiscuous' life, but insisted he had never engaged in 'non-consensual sexual activity'. This was reported by BBC News citing the hearing at Southwark Crown Court in London, where Brand is on trial for three counts of rape and other offences; he denies all charges.

Statements on the charges and the dropped count

According to BBC correspondents, in November 2023 Brand said in a prepared statement: 'I have repeatedly stated publicly and written at length that I led a very promiscuous life, which I openly condemned for years. I have never engaged in non-consensual activity.' He also called the charges the product of a 'defamatory and fictional documentary' featuring 'false and anonymous' interviews, and added that afterwards 'both the media and the police publicly invited further allegations to be made, which led to the invention or reinterpretation of new episodes'.

Change to the charges and the trial's next steps

On Tuesday the jury was also formally asked to find Brand not guilty on one count of indecent assault. The judge, Mr Justice Bennathan, indicated that 'the evidence to support the charge of indecent assault is insufficient'. That count related to a woman who claimed that in 2001, when she worked at MTV, Brand grabbed her arm and tried to drag her into a toilet. The jury received an amended indictment in which the dropped count is replaced by attempted indecent assault, to which Brand has also pleaded not guilty. He thus faces three counts of rape, three of sexual assault and one of attempted indecent assault. The prosecution will conclude its speech on Wednesday morning, after which the defence is expected to begin. The BBC is also running the 'Russell Brand on Trial' podcast with daily round-ups of the trial, available on BBC Sounds and other platforms.