An alleged victim of Russell Brand has told a court he "dragged" her into a toilet before claiming he raped her. Brand arrived at Southwark Crown Court wearing a crucifer for the sixth day of his rape trial. The 51-year-old former comedian was accompanied by his wife Laura Gallacher, 38.
He denies three counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault and one of indecent assault against six different women. The charges span across 10 years during his showbiz career.
Alleged Toilet Attack
Brand's third accuser today said she was "dragged" into a toilet by the celebrity at a party and orally raped. In a pre-recorded police interview, played to jurors, the woman said: "We had just met and had a brief conversation and he literally grabbed my arms and dragged me into the toilets. I just didn't know what was going on. It happened so fast, he pulled me over."
He said: 'Come on, come on, don't be a spoilsport.' I remember some guy's voice on the other side saying: 'Are you OK?'. Russell casually walked over and unlocked it [the door]."
As reported by the Mirror, the accuser said he had a "big grin" that was "like a clown" as he grabbed her breasts. In a pre-recorded police interview, played to jurors, the woman said: "I remember his big grin and it was like a clown."
"From one minute it was a normal conversation, there wasn't any sexual flirting or anything like that, it was a normal conversation about him being on Big Brother. He just moved toward me and grabbed both my boobs really quickly and then sort of let go, and he then grabbed my arm and just pulled me."
"It felt really out of place and that part of it really shocked me. When he dragged me inside (the toilet), I was still reeling in shock from that situation. For him to blatantly do that in a public place with someone you've literally just met was a complete shock to me, I didn't know how to process that."
Woman's Account of the Incident
The woman, speaking about what happened in the toilet, said: "I just remember I felt like a force and every time I tried to move away he was strong, it was forcing me back. And I did definitely say 'what are you doing? I don't want to do this'. And he's like: 'Come on, come on'."
The woman added: "I didn't feel like my life was in danger, I don't know if that's because he was a famous person." She said that Brand was talking in a "laddie" kind of way.
Brand has arrived in person for each of his trials, on some days alongside his wife, Laura, and members of his entourage have reportedly been sitting in the court galleries.
The woman, allegedly indecently assaulted, said she had complimented his "I am Spartacus" T-shirt before showing him where the toilets were at an MTV site. She told the court last week: "This person went from someone quite jovial and friendly to suddenly turning into this wild-eyed maniac trying to pull me into the toilets."
"He grabbed me by the arm and started to pull me in saying, 'Come on, come in with me'. I was trying to pull myself away. I said to him, 'What are you doing? Are you mad? Let me go'."
The woman said the incident lasted about 20 seconds. Asked how she felt afterwards, she said: "Bewildered, confused, what the hell happened there." The woman, who gave evidence from behind a screen, said she reported the incident to colleagues, who she says told her: "Well, he's crazy." But she said she never reported it to bosses.
She added: "The reason I didn't was because I was scared. I got away, I thought it would be my word against him. He was a big asset to MTV."
Further Evidence and Background
The woman later went to police in 2023 after watching a Channel 4 Dispatches documentary about Brand. She said: "It came back to me and I thought, 'This is not just me'." The woman was challenged by Brand's lawyer Ian Winter KC that she only came forward and decided Brand had been trying to attack her rather than pull her in for a consensual encounter after watching the TV show.
She said: "I don't think it's quite as straight-forward as that. I came away relatively unscathed. He didn't manage to rape me."
Pushed that Brand was seeking a consensual encounter, she said: "No, not really, because you don't drag someone by the arm. His eyes were wild. When I showed him where the toilet was his demeanour changed. I used a description to say his eyes looked manic, which they did."
His former flatmate Andrew Dobson said the ex-comic, who is accused of raping a woman after a fringe event at the Labour Party conference in 1999, had a huge preoccupation with sex. Mr Dobson composed music for a show and Brand was in the fringe Soapbox Cabaret at the Bournemouth conference.
He recalled Brand did not return to the guesthouse after the final night. He said: "We saw Russell the next morning. Russell came in and there was suddenly an emergency that we had to leave."
The court was also read a statement by a journalist, who was contacted by the woman after the screening of the C4 show in 2023. She said she had known her for many years. The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told police: "She told me she had seen the news coverage and that she was raped by Russell Brand. I was extremely shocked."
John Rogers, who was at the conference with Brand, said the presenter told him about an intimate encounter he had with a woman at the event.
Mr Rogers said: "He had met up with one of them and they had some form of encounter in a hotel room. It stuck in my mind because I just thought it was a really weird thing to happen." He added: "His reaction was a bit odd, he was kind of flustered. The whole thing seemed peculiar."
The trial continues.
