New allegations have emerged against comedian Russell Brand as his rape and sexual assault trial enters its second week.
One woman told the court that Brand dragged her into a bathroom and orally raped her just minutes after they met.
Brand faces three rape charges, three counts of sexual assault and one count of indecent assault over alleged incidents involving six women during a decade beginning in 1999.
The trial, which is expected to continue for six weeks at Southwark Crown Court in London, has seen Brand plead not guilty. He denies all the allegations and maintains that any sexual activity was consensual.
These are the most serious claims heard during the high-profile proceedings so far:
Prosecutor Called Russell Brand “Ruthless” Predator, Obsessed With Sex
The trial opened on Oct. 14 with a statement from lead prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones, who portrayed Brand as a “ruthless, calculated and manipulative” predator who was “obsessed” with sex, Sky News reported.
Karmy-Jones also told jurors that Brand appeared to hold a childlike belief that “his every desire should be met.”
She said the jury would hear testimony from six women about alleged encounters at Brand’s home, his workplaces, a hotel room and a bar toilet.
“Six women, separate women, different allegations,” Karmy-Jones said, according to The Rolling Stone. “When you hear them I have no doubt that you will find their evidence compelling.”
The prosecutor argued that Brand viewed the women as “simply a means to an end” in pursuing sexual gratification. She described his desire for sexual contact as “indiscriminate and voracious.” Brand entered rehabilitation for sex addiction in 2005.
Woman Alleged Russell Brand Turned “Monster-Like” in 1999 Rape
The first woman to testify, on Oct. 15, alleged that Brand raped her in a hotel room during a 1999 Labour Party conference in Bournemouth, where he had performed, Sky News reported.
She said Brand initially seemed friendly but became “monster-like” after they went to her hotel room to continue their conversation.
The woman alleged that Brand forced himself on her and that she was unable to fight back. Recalling the encounter emotionally, she said it left her feeling “dirty” and overwhelmed by “shame.”
“He did rape me, he did push me on the bed,” she said, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “He did pull my clothes off.”
Brand has denied the allegation and said the encounter was consensual.
Second Woman Claims Russell Brand Turned Into “Wild-Eyed Maniac”
A second woman described an alleged 2001 encounter in which she said Brand became a “wild-eyed maniac” and tried to drag her into a bathroom for sex.
“I managed to get myself out of the situation,” she told the court on Oct. 16, according to Sky News. “I wanted a quiet life.”
Woman Testifies Russell Brand Grabbed Her Boobs, Pushed Her Into Bathroom Minutes After Meeting
A third woman said she was working for MTV when she attended a British television producer’s birthday party at a Soho bar in July 2004 and encountered Brand, Deadline reported.
In a 2023 police interview played in court, the woman alleged that Brand “literally just grabbed my boobs out of nowhere in the middle of the conversation,” according to the BBC.
“I just remember this weird maniacal grin, looming in front of me as he just grabbed my boobs,” she added.
She testified that Brand then dragged her into the bar’s toilet, where he allegedly unzipped his pants and orally raped her.
The woman emotionally recalled telling Brand that she didn’t want to have the sexual encounter.
“I pushed him away and he said: ‘Come on, come on, don’t be a spoilsport,’” she said, according to The Guardian. “He kept pushing my head down and wouldn’t let me go. I just froze. I didn’t know what to do.”
“I closed my eyes and tried to not be there,” she added, per Deadline, telling authorities she thought, “If I do this, maybe he won’t try to rape me further.”
The woman remembered banging on the door to get out before they walked back into the bar and Brand allegedly told her, “I guess we should swap numbers now.’”
She was in a car with Brand traveling to another venue, when she said he exposed himself again.
“I was in disbelief and shock and I felt this nudge and I looked around and he [Brand] had penis out again in the car,” she said, according to The Guardian, “and he was going ‘come on, come on, suck it’ and I was just like ‘no’. He took ‘no’ for an answer then.”
The woman didn’t report the alleged incident to police until 2023 when other women began to come forward, Deadline reported. She decided to speak out because she hoped to make it “a nicer world for my daughter.”
During cross examination, Brand’s attorney Ian Winter argued that the woman—who has not been publicly named— “happily accompanied” the star to the bathroom, an assertion which adamantly denied.
“I was not charmed in the slightest,” she said, according to The Guardian. “I’d met this person for a minute before I was sexually assaulted.”
Winter also questioned why the woman didn’t slap Brand or try to fight him off.
Brand—who has attended much of the trial with wife Laura Gallacher—has insisted that any sexual contact he did have was consensual.
The trial is expected to continue later this week.