Sharon Osbourne has said Russell Brand should "pay" for his crimes after the comedian was sentenced to 10 years and six months in prison for rape and sexual assault. The 51-year-old was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on Monday, and Sharon, 74, and the Osbourne family, who have known Brand for more than two decades, have responded on The Osbournes podcast.
Osbourne family reacts to Brand sentencing
Sharon said: "Even if it's years ago and you've tidied up your life, you've got your head together. You've got everything going [for you]. The whole thing is ugly. But his wife, his kids..."
Jack Osbourne added: "And obviously there's the victims. It's horrible that they've had to and what they've had to endure and obviously lived through for decades now."
Sharon then stated: "He got his life together. But you know what? You play, you pay."
Background of the allegations
The allegations against Brand first came to light in September 2023, when an investigation by journalists from The Sunday Times, The Times, and Channel 4 Dispatches published accusations from women who said they had been raped, sexually abused, and degraded by the entertainer. Sharon spoke out over the claims shortly after.
"Being a woman, when I hear these cases where women have been abused and taken advantage of, I automatically go to the woman's side, because I love women, I care about them," she said.
Sentencing details and victim impact
During Brand's sentencing, Mr Justice Bennathan began by saying he was "in many people's eyes funny and charismatic" 20 years ago, before calling him a "sexual predator". He said that, during the trial, Brand insisted he had "never touched a woman without her consent". That was one of a "series of lies you told", the judge stated.
Brand was found guilty of raping a 21-year-old fan he met after one of his Hammersmith Apollo shows in 2009. She said she "struggled to sleep and eat" and to "cope with my emotions" after the attack, the court heard. The victim said she had to take time away from work and live with her parents. "I am living with trauma and something I carry every day," she added to the court. She said her confidence and self-esteem were left "badly affected," and she no longer trusts her instincts. The woman also said she feared that she might have contracted HIV.
Brand was also found guilty of sexually assaulting a woman at a bar in London in 2004. Delivering her victim impact statement, the woman said she felt "physically sick" watching him soar to fame after he groped her within minutes of meeting her in the bar in Soho. The attack left her feeling like "damaged goods", she told the court. Speaking from behind a screen to protect her anonymity she said: "For many years as his star was rising it was impossible to escape seeing him all over the media, being celebrated for his disgusting behaviour against women like it was all a joke. There were many times I felt physically sick at the sight of him parading around thinking he can get away with anything."
Brand was also found guilty of sexually assaulting a woman at the Choice FM studios in London in 2005 and a Channel 4 worker in 2009. He was sentenced to 10 years and six months in prison for one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault.
