Russell Brand Faces Rape, Assault Charges at First Court Hearing

Russell Brand appeared in a London court for the first time since being charged with rape, indecent assault, and sexual assault last month, The Associated Press reports.

At the largely procedural appearance at the Westminster Magistrates’ court on Friday, May 2, Brand was granted conditional bail and read the charges against him. He did not enter a plea (as is customary at this stage in the U.K.), but has previously denied the allegations against him. Brand only spoke when confirming his name, date of birth, and address, and to say that he understood the conditions of his bail.

Those conditions require Brand to keep the court informed about his whereabouts, whether he’s staying in the U.K. or the U.S. (the comedian and YouTuber primarily lives in Florida). He must attend all future court hearings though, and any violations would potentially lead to him being taken into custody. His next court hearing is scheduled for May 30. 

Also during the hearing, the prosecutor detailed the charges against Brand, which stem from alleged incidents with four women that occurred between 1999 and 2005. He is accused of raping a woman in 1999 at a hotel room in Bournemouth after a Labour Party conference. A second woman accused Brand of grabbing her by the forearm and trying to drag her into a bathroom at a TV station in 2001.

A third woman claimed that in 2004 Brand grabbed her breast, puled her into a bathroom, and orally raped her. And a fourth woman, who met Brand while working on a Big Brother spin-off between 2004 and 2005, accused Brand of grabbing her by the face, pushing her against a wall, kissing her, and grabbing her breasts and buttocks. 

The Metropolitan Police opened their investigation into Brand in September 2023 after the allegations against the comedian were first reported publicly in The Times and Channel 4’s investigative show, Dispatches. 

After the charges against him were brought last month, Brand denied the accusations against him in a video posted to social media. “I’ve always told you guys that when I was young and single before I had my wife and family … I was a fool, man,” he said. “I was a fool before I lived in the light of the Lord. I was a drug addict, a sex addict, and an imbecile. But what I never was, was a rapist. I’ve never engaged in nonconsensual activity. I pray that you can see that by looking in my eyes.”