Russell Brand has entered a not-guilty plea to rape, sexual assault, and other indecent assault charges today.
The comedian and actor, 49, is currently scheduled to stand trial for four to five weeks in June of next year for allegedly attacking four different women, including one rape allegation, one adulterous assault allegation, one oral rape allegation, and two additional sexual assault counts.
Before being granted conditional bail during a ten-minute hearing at Southwark Crown Court, Brand only spoke to offer each not-guilty plea to each of the five charges and confirm his name.
He walked into the court building carrying a small black book shortly before 10am while being surrounded by dozens of reporters, photographers, and police officers.
Brand, who was dressed in tight, dark pants, a shirt with an open neck, and dark sunglasses before entering the dock, is being represented by barrister Ian Winter, KC, whose website describes him as a “highly sought-after criminal specialist with a special emphasis on fraud and financial crime.”
His father Ron, who sat on the front row of the public gallery, sat with Brand, who was accused of the crimes by post last month, in court today.
At the end of the hearing, the star slowly left the courtroom and thanked an usher for his efforts.
Brand, who turns 50 next Wednesday, was charged with the crimes last month by post. Prosecutors Suki Dhadda gave a brief summary of the case against him at a previous hearing on May 2.
Westminster Magistrates Court heard that the TV star allegedly attacked the first accuser at a hotel in Bournemouth, Dorset, in a court hearing earlier this month. In a television station’s alleged 2001 incident, he also allegedly tried to drag a second woman’s forearm into a male toilet.
A TV worker who met Brand in London’s Soho in 2004 is the third accuser. A radio producer who met Brand while he was presenting Channel 4’s Big Brother’s Big Mouth in 2004 and allegedly had an inappropriate sexual encounter with Brand while they were working on the program on the network 4’s Big Brother’s Big Mouth.
Before becoming a stand-up comedian, Brand, who has lived in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, with his wife Laura Gallacher and their three children, was born in Essex. Later, he transitioned to hosting and presenting TV and radio programs for a variety of channels, including the BBC and Channel 4.
Before appearing in a number of Hollywood films, including Get Him to the Greek, he hosted Big Brother’s Big Mouth, a spin-off of the popular television program Big Brother, as well as the NME, MTV, and Brit Awards ceremonies. The born-again Christian has since resurrected as an “anti-woke” political podcaster, amassing millions of online followers on the Rumble online video platform.
In September 2023, the Sunday Times, the Times, and Channel 4’s Dispatches conducted an investigation that turned up numerous serious allegations against him.
The Metropolitan Police Service then revealed that Brand had been charged in April. Brand stated in a video in April that he had never engaged in non-consensual activity and was grateful for the opportunity to defend the charges in court after the Met and the Crown Prosecution Service made the announcement.
He wrote to his 11.3 million followers on X, a prior version of Twitter, that he was a drug addict, sex addict, and impoverished, but what I never was was a rapist. I’ve never engaged in “unconsensual acts.”
Because of my unwavering innocence, he continued, “I’m absolutely open to and welcome the opportunity to defend myself.”
Source: Mirror
Leave a Reply