A woman has told a court that Russell Brand raped her in a hotel room after making her take photos of him prancing around in his 'budgie smugglers'. The 51-year-old is on trial at Southwark Crown Court, denying seven charges including rapes and sexual assault against six women between 1999 and 2009.
Jurors have heard he was a 'ruthless, calculated, manipulative sexual predator' who used charm, celebrity status or force in a quest to have sex with 5,000 women. On Thursday, they watched the first complainant's video-recorded interview with a detective constable from September 2023, in which she said: 'Russell Brand did rape me.'
She added: 'He knew exactly what he was doing. He wanted to have sex that night and I was there.' Brand watched her give her account on a TV screen above the jury and was provided with a transcript.
Encounter at fringe theatre event
The woman described going to see a fringe theatre event during the 1999 Labour Party conference, featuring Brand – not yet famous – as one of the cast. While speaking to her mum in a telephone booth before it started, she said 'somebody started pulling my hair', adding: 'Basically it was Russell Brand, he was doing it while I was on the phone.'
She recalled Brand telling her 'I have been looking for you', and said: 'I think he grabbed me from behind, like "boo". He was very childish, he was very playful – I didn't feel threatened by him.' They 'chatted for hours' afterwards, and she thought Brand might be gay 'because he was so complimentary' and 'very gentlemanly', saying: 'It didn't feel like he was trying it on with me.'
The woman said she now feels 'stupid' for suggesting they go back to her hotel rather than on to a pub. After returning, she told the detective she went straight to the loo and came out to see Brand 'there in his briefs'.
'Prancing around' in hotel room
She said: 'He was not naked fully, he had his trousers or shorts on, I think shorts or pants – I don't know what you call them, budgie smugglers, tiny shorts, like briefs.' The woman said she was 'taken aback' and 'shocked' as Brand was 'prancing around' and 'sitting on the bed'.
She added: 'I froze a bit, I'm like "why have you taken your clothes off?" And he was like "it's OK, its just how I am, don't worry…. I'm mostly naked at home".' Asked for more detail, she said: 'I remember him being like an ostrich – like a bird because he was very leggy. I wasn't laughing, I just remember him jumping up and down being silly. Almost like Fawlty Towers-esque, like Basil Fawlty when he does his goose steps.'
The woman told the officer she felt 'frightened' after Brand forced her to take pictures of him on her camera before allegedly raping her. She said his underwear left little to the imagination and she 'could see he was getting turned on', adding 'that's when I knew it wasn't going to end well, to be honest'.
Alleged rape and aftermath
She said: 'I was frightened. I remember feeling "what on earth have I got myself into" – and then he did rape me. He pushed me onto the bed. He did take my trousers off.' The court heard the alleged victim 'drifted out of my head' as a 'heavy' Brand raped her.
The woman told the officer: 'I just remember him on me, really heavy, and me trying not to let him. I know I said no and I just drifted out of my head. I couldn't get out of the situation – do I shout, do I scream? It didn't take long, I just know it was quick.'
Afterwards, she said Brand appeared 'happy – like nothing was wrong', dressed and wrote down his email address. She also remembered him saying he 'had to get back to his mum', telling the police officer: 'I think he was trying to show me he was a family guy.'
She recalled feeling 'dirty' and crying afterwards, saying she 'chose to suppress it'. 'I didn't want any of this to be in the public domain,' she added. 'It made me feel so dirty and I thought it was my fault…but in those days it was your fault, it was always your fault.' Jurors heard she began 'having nightmares' about the possibility of being pregnant.
The woman said a 2023 Dispatches documentary about allegations of sexual misconduct by Brand 'triggered' her to go to police. During her opening, Ms Karmy-Jones said Brand is expected to argue that sex was always consensual and that his accusers have 'reimagined' their encounters with him. At the start of Thursday's hearing, Mr Justice Bennathan told the jury they would not be watching the Dispatches documentary because it 'would not be fair'. The trial continues.
