Russell Brand accuser tells court: I did not consent
A woman has told the Russell Brand trial she did not consent to anal sex in 2009 and was treated like an animal; Brand denies all charges.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
Russell Brand's trial at Southwark Crown Court has heard a woman allege that he anally raped her at his Hampstead home in 2009 after what she said began as consensual sex. The woman, referred to in court as Woman E, was giving evidence for a second day. She said she met Brand when she was 21 after seeing his Scandalous show at the Hammersmith Apollo. She told jurors she gave him oral sex backstage and they swapped numbers. She said Brand later arranged for a driver to take her to his townhouse, where they had consensual sex. She alleges that after this he forced a different sexual act on her, anal sex, and did not stop when she said no several times.
Under cross-examination, Brand's barrister, Ian Winter-Casey, suggested she had consented to anal sex. She rejected that, saying: 'I did not consent.' The barrister put it to her that she was young, impressionable and obsessed with Brand, and that she had agreed to what happened. She replied: 'I didn't agree to it' and later: 'We are not here to discuss my morality.'
The court also heard that Brand's barrister suggested she was a massive fan and knew his reputation at the time. He said Brand attracted a lot of attention from women, who threw their bras at him on stage. She said she had not at that point heard about Brand raping somebody. When asked whether being a fan clouded her judgement and caused her to do things she would not normally do, she said no.
The jury was told about messages exchanged months later, after the woman saw Brand from a distance while working at the Edinburgh Festival. She received what she called a random text from him. She replied: 'Why are you even messaging me?' Brand allegedly responded: 'Because you're dirty and I want to push you further.' She told him: 'I think you've pushed me far enough. You treated me like an animal.' Brand allegedly replied immediately: 'I'm sorry.'
The woman said she was upset because Edinburgh had been the first time she felt happy that year. She said his response was horrible and took her back to how she felt after leaving his house: completely degraded and like a piece of meat.
Woman E gave evidence from behind a screen, as the other alleged victims have, and broke down in tears at the end. The jury has now heard testimony from all six women in the case. Brand, 51, denies three counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault and one count of indecent assault. He has pleaded not guilty and has previously said he never engaged in non-consensual activity. The trial continues.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reported by all 3 channels | |||
| A rape allegation dated to 2009 and involved a woman who had attended Brand's stand-up show. | |||
| Brand's lawyer suggested in cross-examination that the woman was impressionable and obsessed with him and had agreed to what happened; she said she did not agree. | |||
| Russell Brand appeared in court accused by six women of offences between 1999 and 2009, denied all charges including three counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault and one count of indecent assault, and said he had never engaged in non-consensual activity. | |||
| Only on one channel | |||
| The jury has now heard evidence from all six women. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by Channel 4 | |
| The woman gave evidence from behind a screen and broke down in tears at the end of her testimony. | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by ITV | |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
The report stayed close to the court exchange and the text message at the centre of the allegation. It stressed that the woman gave evidence behind a screen, broke down in tears, and that Brand denies three rape counts, three sexual assault counts and one indecent assault charge. It did not set out the earlier backstage meeting or the explicit detail of the alleged anal rape.
- “I didn't agree to it.”
- “because you are dirty and I want to push you further.”
- “You treated me like an animal.”
ITV framed the allegations as a turn from Brand's old jokes and books to a criminal trial. Its account used the phrase 'a different type of sex' rather than naming anal sex, and it highlighted that all six women have now given evidence. It also carried the full denial and a warning about graphic details.
- “No I did not agree to that”
- “I didn't consent to what happened to me”
- “completely degraded and like a piece of meat.”
Channel 4 gave the most detailed chronological account, naming Woman E and reporting her age at the time, the backstage meeting at the Hammersmith Apollo, and the Hampstead townhouse allegation. It used the word anal rape and included the barrister's questions about Brand's reputation and her fandom. It also noted that Brand is 51 and strenuously denies the allegations.
- “I did not consent.”
- “we're not here to discuss my morality.”
- “You treated me like an animal.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.