Russell Brand was filmed holding up a card bearing the word ‘Obey’ towards Katy Perry on the Oscars red carpet in 2010, in an unsettling exchange that has resurfaced.
The convicted rapist was being interviewed alongside his then-wife by a GMTV reporter at the event.
When Katy Perry joked that Brand had not watched the ceremony, he contradicted her before reprimanding her for swearing.
Brand then displayed a small card reading ‘Obey’ to the camera before walking away, leaving the singer to complete the interview alone.
Some social media users interpreted the logo, which belonged to a clothing brand, as a public attempt by Brand to assert control over his then-wife.
Perry appeared unsettled by the exchange and became noticeably quieter during the final moments, when she was left standing with the reporter.
The footage has resurfaced as the pop star reportedly prepares to discuss her ‘dark marriage’ to the disgraced comedian and actor in a forthcoming book and docuseries.
The couple were married for 14 months, from 2010 until their divorce in 2011. Perry has maintained what fans have described as a ‘dignified silence’ about the relationship ever since.
Russell Brand and Katy Perry speak to GMTV on the Oscars red carpet in 2010
After telling his wife not to swear, Brand held up an ‘Obey’ logo to the camera
In the interview, Brand walks along the red carpet beside Perry while holding a small piece of paper and clasping his wife’s hand.
The reporter asked: ‘What did you think of the whole shebang?’
Perry quickly interrupted with a playful remark to her husband: ‘You didn’t watch it.’
Apparently unimpressed by the joke, Brand began describing a part of the ceremony that he claimed to have enjoyed.
He said: ‘My favourite bit was when Chalky fell over on the carpet and then Pipsqueak has come over and Sneezy went “no”, that was probably my favourite bit.’
The reporter replied to Perry: ‘You have just put him right in it now.’
Brand immediately insisted: ‘I did watch the Oscars.’
Perry then told the reporter: ‘I call him on his b*******.’
Brand pointed at his wife and responded: ‘Don’t swear.’
Turning towards the camera, he continued to lecture Perry about using bad language and referred to the ceremony being ‘in England’.
At that moment, he unfolded the paper and held the card reading ‘Obey’ in front of the camera.
The ‘Obey’ logo was created for a clothing line by street artist Shepard Fairey.
However, social media users read the gesture as Brand publicly asserting control over the singer.
Perry then turned away from the camera and reporter, appearing increasingly uncomfortable.
Brand was asked which nominees he had been pleased to see win.
‘I’m happy for everyone really,’ he replied, adding: ‘People that won, people that were nominated, people who were just there.
‘The unsung heroes are the people that fill the seats.’
Pop star Katy Perry with her then-husband Russell Brand at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles
The comedian then walked away from the interview and appeared to search for another reporter, leaving Perry to finish speaking.
Although he abruptly left, Brand continued holding Perry’s hand and appeared to try to lead her away with him.
The reporter then asked: ‘Katy, how do you deal with this?’
Perry initially stuttered before replying: ‘No, he is actually hilarious.’
‘Glad you find him funny,’ the frustrated reporter quipped.
Perry continued: ‘I’m speechless, usually I am the bubbly one and I’m just like “oh my god you’re so funny I can’t believe it”.’
As the interview ended, the reporter said: ‘Have a lovely night, I know you are being pulled away, back, left and centre.’
The awkward encounter is not the only reason Perry’s name has resurfaced in discussions about her former husband.
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Perry, 42, was not called to give evidence at Brand’s trial, but it has since emerged that she may have been in the room during one of the sexual assaults alleged to have taken place in 2009.
During the trial, Ian Winter KC, who represented Brand, raised the possibility that a witness had been present when Brand allegedly put his head in a woman’s lap during filming for Channel 4.
Mr Winter said of the 2009 incident: ‘She [the victim] says that other people were in the room and witnessed it, possibly including the defendant’s future wife, Ms Katy Perry.’
However, Scotland Yard reportedly never contacted the singer for a statement about the incident.
The reference to Perry’s possible presence was removed from the trial following submissions by Brand’s legal team.
Perry has not commented on Brand’s conviction for rape and sexual assault, but The Mail on Sunday has reported that she is considering revealing details of their ‘dark marriage’ in a book and docuseries.
Perry performs at the Blenheim Palace Festival in July this year. Sources close to the singer say she has held ‘active discussions’ about telling her side of her 14-month marriage to Brand
Sources close to the singer said she had been waiting for the outcome of Brand’s trial before finalising a deal, but had been in ‘active discussions’ about documenting their 14-month marriage, which ended in 2011.
A well-placed Hollywood source said: ‘Katy has received multiple offers over the years to tell her story but would not consider anything until after the trial. She has a lot to say.
‘At the moment she’s considering a Netflix-type series and an autobiography. She and her team have been in active discussions.
‘There is a lot about that marriage which people don’t know. It was a very dark period in her life.’
The source claimed Perry’s representatives had been in contact with streaming platforms including Netflix and Hulu.
The couple met while filming Get Him To The Greek in 2009 and married the following year in a Hindu ceremony in India.
By the end of 2011, however, the marriage had ended, with Brand reportedly informing Perry by text moments before she was due to perform on stage.
The I Kissed A Girl and Firework singer has suggested that she knows more about Brand’s darker side, telling fans this summer that he should be ‘in jail’. She has not publicly discussed his conviction.
In a 2013 interview with Vogue, Perry said: ‘At first when I met him he wanted an equal and I think a lot of times strong men do want an equal, but then they get that equal and they’re like, “I can’t handle the equalness”.
‘He didn’t like the atmosphere of me being the boss on tour. So that was really hurtful and it was very controlling, which was upsetting.
‘I felt a lot of responsibility for it ending. But then I found out the real truth which I can’t necessarily disclose because I keep it locked in my safe for a rainy day.’
Hi, I’m Alex Matthews, Editor of The Crime Desk.
Russell Brand has been found guilty of rape and three sexual assaults, while our reporters Caroline Cheetham and Liz Hull attended court every day. They spoke to Detective Inspector Laura Nelson, who explained why the women who accused Brand in the documentary were not involved in his rape trial.
Brand humiliated Perry just weeks before their December 2011 separation by removing his wedding ring and joking about ‘bedding’ college students during a university tour of the United States.
In a video posted on the Nudevista website, he said he was preparing for what he described as ‘a week of revolution’.
Brand told viewers he was looking forward to seeing the antics of female students first-hand, then deliberately removed his wedding ring and joked that he would keep it ‘somewhere very, very safe’ while travelling.
He added: ‘I don’t know what a sorority is except for what I have seen (online) that they are sort of sex clubs for women.’
There had been indications earlier that the marriage was under strain.
Perry was reportedly furious after Brand posted a photograph on social media showing her waking up in bed without make-up. The image was soon deleted.
In July, the singer delivered a striking parting remark about her former husband during a concert in the UK, saying he ‘should be in jail’.
She made the comment during an appearance at the Blenheim Palace Festival in Oxfordshire, where she took part in a question-and-answer session with fans.
After a fan asked her to act out her reaction to ‘seeing her ex’, Perry replied: ‘I hope my ex isn’t here. He should be in jail.’
She later said Brand had been jealous of her success. Perry went on to have a decade-long relationship with Orlando Bloom, 49, before they split in June 2025.
She shares a six-year-old daughter, Daisy Dove, with the Pirates of the Caribbean star.
Her relationship with former Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau, 54, began the following month after they met while she was on tour. Trudeau separated from his wife, Sophie Grégoire, in 2023.
Photographs of Trudeau and Perry kissing on a yacht emerged in October 2025.
She described him as ‘the love of my life’ in interviews connected to her concert film Katy Perry: The Lifetimes Tour – Live from Paris.