Listening to Russell Brand’s victims give their courageous evidence in court was distressing enough. But another aspect of the trial left me profoundly disturbed.
As a lifelong practising Christian, I found it deeply offensive to watch the self-styled Messiah invoke God in his defence, presenting his apparent new faith as evidence of his character and innocence.
Even while standing in the dock awaiting sentence, Brand made the sign of the cross across his chest.
Now that the trial has concluded, we are entitled to ask whether his conversion to Christianity in 2024 — when Bear Grylls baptised him theatrically in the River Thames, just a year after Channel 4 broadcast its devastating documentary about his treatment of women — was a coincidence or a calculated effort to repair his reputation.
Throughout the proceedings, Brand appeared in court wearing an ostentatious crucifix and frequently carrying a large Bible. He knelt to pray in the dock, held rosary beads and made his religious devotion highly visible.
Some of us will also remember Brand’s interview with Piers Morgan in April, when he brought the same Bible he later carried into Southwark Crown Court. Morgan asked him to identify a passage that held particular meaning for him.
Russell Brand is baptised by Bear Grylls in the River Thames a year after Channel 4 aired its devastating documentary
Brand spent around 90 seconds searching through the pages before admitting that he could not locate the verse he had intended to quote.
Yet reports also claimed that, before sentencing, Brand said he felt ‘God with him in the courtroom’.
The outcome was rather different. Despite his lawyers’ insistence that he was now a ‘different man’ from the person who committed the offences, Brand was sentenced to ten years and six months.
A genuinely repentant man who had found God and accepted his guilt, one might argue, would have pleaded guilty and asked for forgiveness.
He would not then have needed to arrive at court each day in a blacked-out people carrier, accompanied by his wife Laura and an entourage, while telling reporters he felt ‘blessed’ before posing for the cameras.
Nor would he have required his victims to endure the ordeal of a trial — an experience that will remain with them alongside the lasting consequences of the alleged assaults.
As a Christian, what disgusted me most was the behaviour of Brand’s deluded and fanatical supporters — or perhaps wannabe disciples. On the day he was convicted, they displayed a banner showing Brand alongside Jesus Christ, as though the convicted sexual offender were a persecuted saviour.
They appear to be the same kind of people who have subjected his innocent victims to vicious attacks on social media, convinced that Brand is being targeted in an Establishment smear campaign.
Brand and his wife Laura continued recording their religious podcast, Sunday Service With The Brands, during the trial
During the trial, Russell maintained that he was a changed man, devoted husband and father of three young children
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Brand and his wife Laura arrive at Southwark Crown Court on November 4
Brand appears on an episode of Running Wild with Bear Grylls in 2023
Brand seemed so certain that he would avoid serious consequences that he and Laura continued recording their religious podcast, Sunday Service With The Brands, throughout the proceedings.
In one episode, the seemingly serene couple sat in matching pyjamas on the window seat of their riverside home near Henley-on-Thames. Their cat Jericho — even the poor animal has a biblical name — was nearby as gentle violin music played.
Brand, 51, dressed in a leopard-print dressing gown, quickly acknowledged the obvious subject.
‘We are of course in the middle of a very, very unusual time in our marriage,’ he said, before embarking on a rambling denunciation of the ‘old media’, ‘corrupt media’ and ‘hypocritical media’.
He added: ‘If you follow empire media [sic] you will be aware that, of course, we as a family and me in particular are in a situation that requires the authenticity and authority of true justice.’
The couple said they read passages from Scripture and the Psalms to one another on their way to court each day. Yet that apparent spiritual discipline did little to help when the judge later described Brand as an unrepentant ‘sexual predator who has no remorse’.
The description must have been painful for Brand, who had repeatedly presented himself during the trial as a reformed man, devoted husband and father to three young children.
His lawyers even argued that he should be permitted to return home and say goodbye to his wife and children before starting his prison sentence.
The judge refused, citing concerns that Brand might try to escape to his mansion in Florida.
That decision came before it emerged that, well ahead of the trial, Brand had secretly transferred almost £9 million from his television and stand-up comedy company and tried to move ownership of his £5 million Oxfordshire mansion to his wife. The transactions raised concerns that he was attempting to protect his wealth from potential civil claims brought by his victims.
Brand faced further allegations when his former partner Jemima Goldsmith claimed that he had physically assaulted her during their relationship and accused him of ‘violence, coercive control and abuse’.
The Metropolitan Police have also confirmed that he is being investigated over two further rape allegations, while more complainants could yet come forward.
Brand’s case demonstrates that faith is not a garment to be put on whenever convenient. Nor is it a coat of many colours designed to conceal one’s darkest secrets.
True Christianity requires humility and accountability — qualities Brand appears to lack severely.