Gerwyn Price has been criticised on social media over a post about disgraced comedian and convicted rapist Russell Brand. At his sentencing hearing on Monday, the former comic was ordered to serve 10 years and six months behind bars. Last week, he was found guilty of raping a woman, in addition to three counts of sexual assault.
Post compares Brand's sentence to another case
Price, ranked fourth in the world, shared a picture on Facebook that appeared to suggest there was 'zero evidence' against Brand, despite his guilty verdict being reached by a jury of eight men and four women. The post compared Brand's sentence to that of Hamoud Al-Soaimi, a 21-year-old man who was given a two-year prison term, suspended for two years, in 2024 for three counts of sexual assault and one count of assaulting a child under 13 by penetration.
Al-Soaimi was 15 at the time and received a more lenient sentence than his three adult co-defendants, who were all jailed, because of how sentencing guidelines are applied to offenders under the age of 18.
Details of the post and reaction
The post shared by Price included pictures of Al-Soaimi and Brand next to each other. Under Al-Soaimi's name, the post read: "Convicted of three sexual assaults and one count of assault by penetration of a child under 13. He received a two-year prison sentence suspended for two years, plus 180 hours unpaid work."
Under Brand's name, the post read: "Three counts of 'sexual assault' and one count of '(grape emoji)' of a fan who had a threesome with him three days prior. 0 evidence. 17-22 years later." In the comments, Price wrote: "Not saying anyone is innocent just highlighting the two-tier justice system we have to deal with."
A fellow social media user highlighted the "omitted legal context" within the post, explaining how the "graphic omits that Al Soaimi was 15 years old when he committed the offences". Others appeared to criticise the original post's claim that Brand was convicted with "zero evidence" against him.
Judge's remarks and victim statements
Price previously posted about Brand when the allegations against him surfaced in 2023, sharing a picture of the now-convicted rapist alongside the words: "Speaking up on certain topics, now this."
Brand, meanwhile, was forced to listen to the impact statements of his victims during his sentencing hearing on Monday. One woman, speaking from behind a screen to protect her right to anonymity, said that Brand's attack on her led to an "undeserved feeling of shame" that she carried for years. Another victim described Brand as a "sexual predator who has no remorse".
The judge, Mr Justice Bennathan, said: "All those women had to face being confronted and being told they had lied, or twisted the truth and, or, they had agreed to your sexual demands. That was all done because of you, on your instructions."
Mr Justice Bennathan also condemned rape myths after Brand's defence barrister reeled off a series of stereotypes, suggesting the victims should not have been believed because they did not scream more, kick or slap him while they were being assaulted. The judge said: "Whatever women wear, wherever they go, indeed whatever they drink, they retain the right to say no and to demand justice from the criminal courts when sexual predators like you, Russell Brand, act without their consent."
