The prosecution case against Russell Brand opened on Wednesday at Southwark Crown Court, where the 51-year-old faces charges of rape and sexual assault. He denies three charges of rape, three counts of sexual assault, and one allegation of indecent assault, made by six women. The allegations span a decade from 1999 to 2009.
Prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones KC described Brand as a “ruthless, calculated and manipulative” predator who raped and groped women to satisfy his sexual appetite. She told the court he was “obsessed” with sex and treated women as a “means to an end”, and was “child-like in his expectation that his every desire should be met”. When questioned by police, Brand gave prepared statements and insisted all sexual contact with women had been consensual, the court was told. Brand is being supported at court by his wife, Laura Gallacher.
Alleged rape at Bournemouth hotel during Labour conference
Brand is accused of raping a woman he met after she watched him perform a cabaret show on the fringes of the 1999 Labour Party conference in Bournemouth. The prosecutor said the woman initially thought Brand was gay and invited him to her hotel room to continue their conversation. She says he emerged topless from the toilet and “was prancing around the room, a bit like an ostrich, doing silly walks like Basil Fawlty”.
Ms Karmy-Jones said: “She was taken aback, she was shocked and she didn’t really know what to do – and in her words she froze a bit.” The woman said she found Brand “polite, courteous and complimentary about her” when they first met, describing him as having a “gentlemanly way”. Later in the hotel room, she says she took photographs of a topless Brand at his request before he “pushed her onto the bed”. She recalls the weight of him on top of her, being unable to move and finding it hard to breathe, and trying not to let him kiss her while saying “no”. The prosecutor said the woman recalled Brand’s tongue feeling “like a lizard” as he raped her. Afterwards, she says Brand “behaved as if nothing had happened” and suggested his mother would like to meet her.
Radio station assault and Soho bar oral rape
A woman who encountered Brand at a radio station in the mid-2000s said she recognised him from his work on Channel 4’s Big Brother spin-off shows. She says Brand “grabbed her by the face with both hands” before he “pushed her up against a wall, where he kissed her sloppily and aggressively”, Ms Karmy-Jones told the court. The woman said she looked to members of Brand’s entourage, “hoping they would intervene”, but claims they took no action. She finally pushed him away, saying words to the effect of “f*** off”, and Brand “stumbled backwards at that final push and just sniggered – like it was a joke”. The prosecutor suggested: “Perhaps he found their protestations amusing, funny? Funny as a display for his friends. The other men who were with him also joined in the laughter.” The woman was left feeling “dirty and disgusting” and in “complete disbelief that not one of the people with Mr Brand had tried to help her or to stop it”.
Another alleged victim said Brand “lunged” at her and grabbed her breasts when they were talking about Big Brother in a Soho bar in July 2004. Ms Karmy-Jones said: “She was shocked and remembers that he had a ‘big, weird grin’ on his face as he did so.” Brand then grabbed her arm, held her strongly, and pulled her into the toilets, where she says he orally raped her despite her saying “I don’t want to do this”. He replied “Oh come on don’t be a spoil sport, you want to” or similar, the prosecutor said. The woman said she “froze and didn’t know what to do” and when released she “started banging on the door”. “Her hands were shaking and she couldn’t get the lock open, and she remembers a man’s voice on the other side of the door saying ‘are you OK?’. Mr Brand just left.”
Hammersmith Apollo rape allegation and MTV incident
A woman who says she was raped by Brand claims the comedian apologised for treating her “like an animal”. Brand allegedly had sex with the woman without consent after meeting her when she was in the audience at a Hammersmith Apollo show in 2009. The court heard she had a threesome with Brand backstage, then had consensual sex with him at his home in Hampstead, north London. But she says Brand then raped her at his home, looked “horrified” afterwards, and allegedly forced her to “clean up the mess”.
Ms Karmy-Jones said Brand texted the woman the following year after a chance encounter in Scotland. She said she messaged Brand: “Why are you even messaging me?”, and he replied: “Because you’re dirty, and I wanna push you further.” The court heard she says she replied: “I think you pushed me far enough – you treated me like an animal”, and she says Brand replied: “I’m sorry.” The court heard Brand had concluded his 2009 show at the Hammersmith Apollo by telling the audience: “If you see me out in the foyer and you think ‘I really fancy him and would like to have sex with him, but I can’t because it is Russell Brand….’ you probably can have sex with me. My age range is from 16 to death.”
A woman who previously worked at MTV with Brand claims he once tried to drag her into a toilet cubicle, the court heard. The prosecutor said she had complimented his “I Am Spartacus” t-shirt in the moments before the alleged incident in 2001.
The trial is expected to gain huge media attention through to its conclusion.
