Jemima Goldsmith has accused convicted rapist Russell Brand of “violence, coercive control and abuse” after it emerged that she and the comedian obtained an injunction silencing a massage therapist for more than a decade.
The legal order, secured after an alleged assault involving Brand, was followed by what Goldsmith described as a sustained campaign of harassment against her.
This afternoon, Goldsmith also disclosed details of a separate “violent” incident in 2014 that ended with her calling police to remove Brand from her home. The pair are believed to have ended their relationship that same year.
In a social media statement, she said she decided not to press charges because she feared the consequences for her own life and for her children. She did not explain what allegedly took place during the incident.
Her comments follow reports about an injunction sought by Brand and Goldsmith, who were a couple at the time, against massage therapist Szilvia Berki.
Berki, who is Hungarian, had been hired by Goldsmith to give Brand a massage at her £15million estate, Kiddington Hall, near Chipping Norton in Oxfordshire, in June 2014.
The therapist agreed to a £500 fee for the appointment, which was scheduled on Brand’s birthday. But the massage did not take place, and Berki later complained to police, claiming the couple had treated her “like a prostitute”.
She reportedly told officers at her local police station that Brand had pushed her and that she was left frightened after Goldsmith’s white Alsatian jumped at her.
Brand and Goldsmith denied any wrongdoing, maintaining that they had arranged a “standard” massage rather than a sexual one.
Jemima Goldsmith, pictured with Russell Brand in 2013, has accused the convicted rapist of “violence, coercive control and abuse”
Brand, pictured with his wife Laura at Southwark Crown Court last Thursday, has been sentenced to ten years and six months in prison
Laura Gallacher sat behind her husband in the dock yesterday. As he arrived, he turned to her and said: “It’ll be OK, I don’t know how, but it will”
The police inquiry was eventually discontinued. Berki continued to discuss the incident on social media, however, and a court later ruled that her posts amounted to harassment before issuing an order against her.
After Brand was sentenced to ten years and six months for rape and three sexual assaults, Goldsmith said she had also experienced “violence” during her relationship with him.
In a lengthy statement on X, she wrote: “Firstly, and most importantly, I am and have always been strongly and unequivocally on the side of all of Brand’s victims.
“I am in awe of the courageous women who came forward at Brand’s trial, shared their accounts, gave evidence and helped ensure that justice was done. I have had my own personal experience of his violence, coercive control and abuse.
“I had to call the police to have him removed from my house in 2014 during a violent incident.
“I chose not to press charges at the time or speak publicly about it because I was concerned about the effect of media attention on my then-teenage children. I have neither seen nor spoken to Brand since that period in 2014.
“Although my pain in relation to this pales in comparison with what the women who testified in court endured, it was a difficult period in my life that has had a lasting impact.”
Goldsmith said she had supported journalists for “several years”, including Ros Urwin, who helped expose allegations against Brand in a 2023 documentary repeatedly referenced during his trial.
She added that reports this week about the injunction against Berki had created “an untrue narrative” and exposed her to “vile hatred and abuse online”.
In October 2015, Brand and Goldsmith secured an anti-harassment order that also barred Berki from speaking about them for life.
Gallacher, centre, appeared tearful as she left court on Monday while holding hands with a friend
The order prevented Berki from publishing or sharing “any information” with “any person” about her visit to Goldsmith’s home.
It also prohibited her from making “any allegation or insinuation” that Brand or Goldsmith had committed a criminal offence against her or behaved in a way that could amount to one.
She would also have breached the order by approaching, or responding to an inquiry from, any journalist or media organisation about the case or either claimant.
Berki was ordered to pay £50,000 in legal costs to Brand and Goldsmith. The couple could begin bankruptcy proceedings if she failed to pay.
She has since made three unsuccessful attempts to appeal the order.
Hi, I’m Alex Matthews, Editor of The Crime Desk.
Russell Brand has been found guilty of rape and three sexual assaults. Our reporters Caroline Cheetham and Liz Hull attended every day of the trial. They spoke with Detective Inspector Laura Nelson, who explained why the women who accused Brand in the widely watched documentary were not involved in his rape trial.
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It is understood that Goldsmith has told Berki she would support changing the injunction so the therapist could contact police again.
Doing so, however, appears to require Brand’s consent. Goldsmith is understood not to have spoken to him since 2014.
Goldsmith said Berki had “embarked on a campaign of vicious anti-Semitic and threatening abuse online and in emails”. She alleged that Berki called her a “deeply rotted JEWISH b****” and wrote: “Happy birthday (Jemima). I hope you have more. In other words I hope you don’t die this year.”
She continued: “The number, tone and content of these messages was extremely frightening. They were distressing for my then-teenage children and my family. I was concerned that Ms Berki could pose a real danger to my family and me.”
Goldsmith said she supported varying the injunction to enable the massage therapist to report her allegations to police.
She added that Berki’s barrister had not responded to her.
“I am glad and relieved that Russell Brand has finally received justice,” Goldsmith said in conclusion.
Following Brand’s convictions, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said he “wouldn’t be surprised if many more” victims came forward.
Brand was sentenced to nine years in prison for rape, along with an additional 18 months for sexually assaulting three other women.
He is expected to serve two-thirds of the sentence before being released on licence.
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