Bear Grylls has responded to Russell Brand's guilty verdict, two years after helping baptise the comedian in the River Thames.
On Thursday, November 5, Brand was found guilty of rape and three counts of sexual assault. He is due to be sentenced on Monday, November 9.
Grylls defends Brand's faith
Reacting to the verdict, Grylls, a devout Christian who helped baptise Brand in 2024, said he believed the actor's conversion to Christianity seemed "genuine" to him.
Writing on X, the adventurer said: "Brand's faith seemed genuine to me at the time when I was a guest at his private baptism."
At the time, Brand shared a photo on Instagram of Grylls embracing him and wrote: "Me, Bear Grylls, The River Thames and of course, The Holy Spirit."
Grylls on justice and faith
Grylls continued: "I have attended a few now. Even visiting in prisons with people who have committed terrible crimes.
"It's part of our calling as men and women of faith, to love and serve anyone. It is the sick that need healing.
"Judgement is for the courts and God… I wouldn't want to ever discourage someone's coming to faith.
"It is right that justice has now been served. I can't imagine how hard this time has been for the victims, the heroes of the day."
The baptism took place just months after Brand was accused of rape, sexual assault and controlling and emotionally abusive behaviour by five women in a joint investigation by Channel 4 Dispatches and the Times newspapers. The Metropolitan Police then began investigating the allegations in September 2023.
Grylls defends his participation
Grylls went on to defend his participation in the baptism by saying he lives by the mantra "What would Jesus do?".
"Faith and spiritual moments in our lives are really personal," he explained. "But it is a privilege to stand beside anyone when they express a humble need for forgiveness and strength from above."
Brand is now facing a lengthy prison sentence after being convicted on Thursday following a high-profile, four-week trial.
The actor and comedian was found guilty of raping a young fan he met after one of his Hammersmith Apollo shows in 2009. He was also found guilty of sexually assaulting a Capital Radio worker after encountering her in a corridor in 2005 and of sexually assaulting a Channel 4 worker during a forced massage in 2009.
Brand was found guilty of groping an MTV worker during a party at a Soho bar in 2004, but found not guilty of orally raping her in a toilet.
