A Channel 4 worker who was sexually assaulted by Russell Brand has said the attack was “brushed under the carpet” by her bosses, and she still worries about repercussions for speaking out.
The woman was targeted by Brand during a recording session in 2009, when she was forced by the comedian’s entourage to give him a massage. When she reluctantly agreed to keep the session going, Brand knelt down and thrust his head into her groin.
Victim impact statement
In a victim impact statement read to Southwark Crown Court on Monday, the woman said she was “powerless” during the incident, “really upset” in the aftermath, and struggled to trust colleagues in the years that followed.
Turning to her complaint to Channel 4 bosses, she said: “Immediately after the incident I spoke up, and sadly it was brushed under the carpet by senior management.”
“This really affected me and had something similar happened again, at the time, I know I would not have had the confidence to speak up again,” she added. “There was a culture, at the time, which meant I felt I had to just carry on and not talk about it anymore. Which meant I did not give myself time to lament on it, boxed it up and pushed it aside.”
Incident details
The incident happened when the woman was working with Brand and his entourage in a studio. Two members of the entourage, Jack Bayles and Gareth Roy, told the woman that Brand was unhappy and was refusing to continue recording until she had given him a massage.
Channel 4 has acknowledged that the woman’s complaint was mishandled in 2009, and Brand continued to appear on the channel’s shows up to 2019.
After the sexual assault, the woman said she was “wary and on my toes about something similar happening again”. She told the court: “I felt I lost my trust in people and felt that my working environment wasn’t safe.”
Conviction and sentencing
Brand was convicted last Thursday of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault, in offending which happened between 2004 and 2009. He has spent four nights in prison, and he mouthed, “it’ll be okay, I don’t know how, but it will” to his wife, Laura Gallacher, as he entered the dock on Monday morning.
The woman who was raped by Brand in 2009, after meeting him at one of his comedy shows at the Hammersmith Apollo, told the court she struggled with alcoholism and mental health struggles in the intervening years. Brand picked the woman out of a crowd to join him for a threesome backstage, and she willingly went to his £2.3 million Hampstead townhouse a few days later for sex. But the court heard the second encounter turned to rape when Brand forced her into anal sex.
In her statement on Monday, the woman said she struggled with seeing Brand repeatedly in the years that followed as he starred in Hollywood films, appeared on TV and radio, and launched a successful online influencer career. “Because of who he was and the influence he held, I did not feel confident speaking openly about what had happened,” she said.
Victims of Brand told the court they have struggled with the mass media coverage of Brand’s trial. A radio worker who was sexually assaulted by Brand in 2005 told the court she almost withdrew her allegation over the emotional strain of being at the centre of a criminal case. She told the court: “Russell Brand is a sexual predator who has no remorse for how his behaviour has impacted my life. I just hope that he is not allowed to hurt any more women.”
A former MTV worker, who was groped in a Soho bar by Brand, delivered her impact statement live behind a screen, telling the judge: “I felt like my life was on hold for all of that time waiting my time to speak out about what happened to me.” She said she suffered a panic attack after seeing media reports of her evidence at trial, and added: “Even more terrifying was seeing my character be torn apart on social media by people believing all of us women were making it up.”
Brand, who denied all the charges he faced at trial, has sat emotionless as prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones KC submitted to the judge that the rape conviction should be considered in the highest level of impact on the victim, carrying a sentence of up to 15 years in prison. Mr Justice Bennathan is due to pass sentence on Brand at 2pm. The hearing continues.
