Prosecutors portrayed Russell Brand as a predatory figure whose pursuit of sex was “more than just a hobby” during a forceful closing speech at his rape and sexual assault trial yesterday.
The 51-year-old comedian is accused of attacking six women in a range of locations, including a hotel room, his luxury London residence, workplaces and a toilet at a Soho bar.
Addressing jurors at Southwark Crown Court, prosecuting barrister Riel Karmy-Jones KC said Brand had sought to exert “control” while pursuing an ambition to sleep with 5,000 women.
As she reviewed evidence from the two-week trial, Ms Karmy-Jones described what she said was Brand’s attitude towards women: “Women as a whole were disposable.
“He didn’t even need to know their names. They were just a means to an end.”
The prosecutor directed the jury to passages in Brand’s 2007 memoir, My Booky Wook, in which he wrote about his “birthright to orgasm”. She also referred to a 2017 interview where he described women as “amusements” in a “playground of orgasms”.
Jurors also heard evidence from Brand’s former personal assistant, Helen Berger, who said he was “always in his underwear”. Ms Karmy-Jones argued that this suggested he showed little regard for professional boundaries.
Ms Karmy-Jones told the jury: “We suggest you will be satisfied so you are sure that the six complainants told you the truth, not an invented truth, not a reimagined truth, but the real truth of what happened to them.
Russell Brand (right) leaves Southwark Crown Court in London with his wife Laura Gallacher (left). He faces three charges of rape, indecent assault and three counts of sexual assault relating to six women. Picture date: Friday October 30
Prosecutors described Brand as a predator for whom sex was “more than just a hobby” during closing arguments in his rape and sexual assault trial. He is pictured leaving court with his wife Laura on October 19
British comedian and actor Russell Brand leaves Southwark Crown Court in south London on October 30, 2026
“We invite you to find him guilty on all counts.”
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Brand denies every allegation. He is charged with three counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault and one allegation of attempted indecent assault.
One complainant, who was 21 when the alleged incident took place, told the court that she had consensual sex with Brand and another person backstage in 2009. Several days later, she went to his home in Hampstead to have sex with him again.
She alleged that Brand first instructed her to shower and brush her teeth before forcing her to take part in anal sex.
The woman acknowledged during her evidence that she had not “painted myself in a good light”. Ms Karmy-Jones said that admission could be viewed by jurors as evidence that she had been “completely honest”.
“She did say no, she did say stop, but he did not,” the prosecutor said.
When he gave evidence on Wednesday, Brand said consent was “fundamental” during sex and claimed he regarded it as “more important than the sex itself”.
Ms Karmy-Jones challenged that account, asking jurors: “Taking into account what you have heard, does that ring true as something Mr Brand believed during this time?”
The prosecutor further alleged that Brand attempted to gaslight the women after the alleged attacks by giving them his phone number or email address and behaving as though nothing had taken place.
She said the six women, who do not know each other, have been ‘haunted for years’ by their experiences, with one slipping into alcoholism and several saying they blamed themselves and were afraid to speak out.
Ms Karmy-Jones said they are ‘six women who have nothing to gain, have not sought the limelight, have not taken part in a documentary, not made claims for compensation’. She added: ‘There is no benefit to them, apart from perhaps some closure by coming before you.’
Brand’s defence barrister, Ian Winter KC, is due to deliver his closing speech on Monday.
The trial continues.
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