Russell Brand's disturbing childhood revelations have resurfaced following his conviction, with passages from his autobiography detailing his father's alleged influence on his early sex life. The comedian, 51, was found guilty at Southwark Crown Court of rape and three sexual assaults.
Father's defence and childhood claims
Ron Brand supported his son throughout the trial and told the BBC he was "bemused and shocked" by the verdicts. He said: "I just didn’t expect this - it’s wrong," adding: "It’s devastating."
In his first autobiography, Brand made a series of claims about his childhood, including that his father introduced him to pornography while he was at primary school and hired prostitutes for him as a teenager. Brand wrote that his dad gave him access to pornographic magazines and X-rated videos, which he claimed sparked his "voracious" interest in sex.
Disturbing incidents recalled
Brand also described how his father would bring women back to his flat and leave him to entertain himself while he had sex. During a family holiday at Pontins, he discovered his father in bed with another woman's mother. Brand wrote that a girl had invited him into her chalet because her mother was in bed with his dad. He recalled: "A woman leaped up naked, all knockers and skin everywhere. I pressed record on the old brain box."
Another passage described a trip to Hong Kong when Brand was 17. He claimed Ron hired three prostitutes – two for himself and one for his son. Brand wrote that his father began "unwrapping his two prostitutes" while he attempted to have sex with the woman hired for him. He said the noise from his dad's room proved distracting, recalling cries of: "Yeah come on! Phwoaar you’re juicy!"
Impact on sexuality
Brand claimed the experience had a lasting impact on his sexuality. He wrote: "During the rest of that holiday I f***** loads more prostitutes and never wore a condom… my sexuality had morphed forever from bewildered innocence into something more complex and rapacious."
Brand also described developing an early fascination with women's bodies. He claimed that, while at primary school, he would try to guess the cup sizes of women he saw. In another passage, he recalled attempting to watch his Auntie Josie, a friend of his mother's, washing her "glorious breasts" in the bath. He wrote: "That’s it, I thought. Keep washing, after all I’m only a little boy… I really was quite manipulative, even at that early age."
Conviction and sentencing
The passages came back into focus after Brand was convicted of raping a 21-year-old woman at his Hampstead home in 2009 and sexually assaulting two women, including a Channel 4 worker who had been made to give him a massage. He was also convicted of sexually assaulting an MTV worker. Brand was cleared of raping another woman he met at a cabaret show in 1999, attempting to indecently assault an MTV worker in 2001 and raping an MTV worker in 2004.
Jurors deliberated for eight and a half hours before reaching their verdicts. Prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones KC said Brand had a "childlike" expectation that his every desire should be met and cared only about his "birthright to orgasm". Brand denied the charges, admitting he was "persuasive, seductive, begging and flirting" with women but insisted consent was "non-negotiable". His wife Laura Gallacher, with whom he shares three children, supported him during the trial and described him as an "amazingly attentive husband" and a "kind and a wonderful father". Brand displayed little emotion as the guilty verdicts were delivered, telling his wife "I love you" before being taken into custody. He is due to be sentenced today (November 9).
