Russell Brand trial hears rape and assault evidence from multiple women

The second week of Russell Brand's trial at Southwark Crown Court has heard evidence from several women who allege sexual assault, including a woman who says she was raped at his home in Hampstead, north London, in 2009. Brand, 51, denies all charges.

He faces seven charges, three counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault and one count of indecent assault, involving six women over a decade. He has pleaded not guilty. The court heard that Brand arrived with his wife, Laura Gallagher, and that in the dock he at times closed his eyes as if meditating or praying while she took notes. The case is still in its prosecution phase.

The jury heard from a woman who worked at Choice FM in the mid-2000s, when Brand was hosting a Big Brother spin-off show. She alleged that during a visit to the Capital Radio building in central London he grabbed her face and kissed her in a frenzied and violent way, pressing his body against her, and later grabbed her breasts and bottom. She said she swore at him and pushed him off, and that she was not enamoured by him. Giving evidence from behind a screen, she became upset when Brand's lawyer asked why she had not told management at the time. She said she was scared of losing her job and did not think anyone would believe her, and that there was no workplace culture in which she would be believed. She went to police in 2023 after watching a documentary. Under cross-examination she rejected suggestions that her memory was hazy, saying the dates and times might be mixed up but that the person who assaulted her was Russell Brand. She added: 'I don't gain a single thing by being here.'

Another woman, a former Channel 4 worker, told the court that during a 2009 project Brand initially seemed lovely but grew annoyed during the day. She alleged that two of his associates said he would not carry on unless she gave him a massage. She said she laughed at first, then saw from their faces that they were not joking. She placed her fingers on his shoulders, felt repulsed and pressured, and claimed he later thrust his head into her groin while members of his team urged her on. She said she told her line manager the next day. Brand denies the allegation.

The court also heard the police interview of a woman who alleges she was raped by Brand at his Hampstead home in 2009. She said she had been a member of the audience at his Hammersmith Apollo stand-up show and that they had a consensual sexual encounter the night they met. He messaged her over the following week and invited her to his home a few days later, sending a car. She said she went knowingly and willingly and expected to have sex. When she arrived, she said, he told her: 'This is the best decision you've ever made.' They kissed and went upstairs, and she said they began having consensual sex. She said she had insisted that he wear a condom. She alleged that he then turned her onto her front and forced himself into her anally without warning. She said she could not speak or move, felt a huge amount of pain, and told him to stop, first quietly and then loudly. She said she realised he was not wearing a condom. She said he looked horrified and she thought he would apologise, but he said: 'Clean up the mess that you've made.' She said the bed was covered in blood and excrement. She described blaming herself, saying she did not have the right words and did not think what had happened to her would happen to a nice girl. She said the pain was so severe that she had to sit on an ice cube tray that night, and that she was later tested for HIV, went to therapy and became addicted to alcohol. She told the court she had told her parents and was referred for therapy by a sexual health clinic. She has not yet been cross-examined. The jury was shown photographs of Brand's bedroom and the Hampstead house.

The woman also described seeing Brand at the Edinburgh Festival a few months later and running away. She said he later sent her a random text message. She replied: 'Why are you even messaging me?' He allegedly responded: 'Because you're dirty and I want to push you further.' She said she replied: 'I think you've pushed me far enough. You treated me like an animal.' Brand allegedly replied: 'I'm sorry.' She said the exchange was horrible because Edinburgh had been the first time she had started to feel happy again that year, and it took her back to feeling completely degraded and treated like a piece of meat.

Brand denies all the allegations. He maintains that he has never engaged in anything that was not consensual. The trial continues.