LONDON (AP) — Six women who accuse Russell Brand of sexually assaulting and raping them in separate instances have described during a London trial their encounters with the British actor and comedian.
The women, who don’t know each other, allege they were assaulted by Brand between 1999 and 2009 in locations including workplaces, a hotel room and a bathroom at a bar.
Brand, 51, has pleaded not guilty to three counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault and one count of indecent assault. He denies all the charges.
Prosecutors allege Brand was a “ruthless” and manipulative sexual predator who at the time had an “indiscriminate and voracious” desire for sexual contact.
The first woman alleged that Brand raped her in a hotel room in 1999 after she met him during a performance on the fringe of the Labour Party annual conference.
A friend of Brand’s testified that some weeks after the alleged rape, the actor told him he “may have gone a bit too far” with a woman.
Another woman alleged that Brand orally raped her in 2004 in the restroom of a London bar. The woman said that she had just met Brand and was chatting to him at the bar when he suddenly grabbed her breasts then dragged her into the bathroom.
A third woman, a then 21-year-old fan, said that Brand anally raped her at his home after she met him at one of his shows in 2009.
Three other women also testified about alleged assaults in their workplaces.
One of them alleged that Brand grabbed her arm and tried to drag her into the men’s bathroom at her office in 2001. Another woman alleged that he kissed and groped her at the London radio station where she worked in 2004 or 2005. A third woman said that he pressed his face into her groin and demanded a massage while recording for a television project in 2009.
The women said they didn’t report the alleged assaults at the time out of shame, and because of concern that they wouldn’t be believed because of Brand’s celebrity status. They individually went to police to report what happened to them after a 2023 television program broadcast anonymous accusations against Brand.
Brand, who is on bail, has appeared in the courtroom with his wife, Laura Gallacher, throughout the trial. He listened intently from the dock, and sat expressionless much of the time as his accusers told of their encounters with him.
In police interviews, he denied ever engaging in nonconsensual sexual activity.
The actor’s lawyer, Ian Winter, questioned the women’s accounts during the trial. He’s expected to argue that sexual encounters from Brand’s past have been “reimagined” when he outlines his case next week.
It’s not clear if Brand himself will testify. The trial is expected to last up to 10 weeks.
Known for risque stand-up comedy routines and battles with drugs and alcohol, Brand rose to prominence in the early 2000s, hosting television programs and his own BBC radio show. He appeared in Hollywood films including “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and “Get Him to the Greek” and was briefly married to pop star Katy Perry.
But in the past decade, he has largely moved away from mainstream media after he relocated to Florida and amassed millions of followers on social media with videos mixing wellness, conspiracy theories and discussions of his religious devotion.
Brand has come under increased scrutiny in recent years after multiple allegations of sexual assault surfaced. Last year, the BBC said that concerns about his behavior — including complaints that he had sex on the broadcaster’s premises and exposed himself in the studio — weren’t handled appropriately because of his status.
The Associated Press doesn’t name victims of alleged sexual violence, and British law protects their identities from the media for life.
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