Sophie Heawood, an entertainment journalist of more than 20 years, attended the final day of Russell Brand's trial at Southwark Crown Court, where she observed that fame was a recurring theme invoked by both the defence and prosecution. She describes how the concept of fame loomed so large in the courtroom that it felt as if it was almost on trial itself.
A journalist's reckoning with celebrity culture
Heawood, who has written about Brand at various stages of his career, went to the court as a member of the public who wanted to see justice done. She reflects on coming of age during a time when rape culture was so prevalent that young women mistook it for a joke. She felt complicit in how media culture had encouraged Brand.
In 2011, Heawood interviewed Brand for a glossy magazine while he was promoting his remake of the film Arthur, with Helen Mirren. She was told by an editor that she would need to "muck about a bit and basically be into Russell Brand's humour." Playing back the tape, she heard herself and Brand pressing Mirren about whether she had read his book, including a chapter in Booky Wook 2 outlining what he would like to do to her with her Oscar. Mirren said she hadn't been sure about joining the project "because Russell is intimidating." Heawood now struggles with how inappropriate the behaviour was, calling it mortifying but noting it was what the job entailed.
Victim impact statements and the weight of fame
At Brand's sentencing, Heawood listened to victim impact statements from the women he was found guilty of attacking. Each one stressed that recovering from his attacks had been rendered almost impossible by seeing him joke about his sex drive in the media. Heawood said she had no idea what darkness he was capable of.
By 2014, when Brand turned to politics, Heawood had written a piece in which she said he had "grabbed a thousand women as if they were lifeboats made of tits" and was trying to overthrow democracy "with a revolution fashioned from leftover bits of the internet and some string."
Other celebrities with hidden darkness
Heawood also recalled spending a day with Jared Leto in 2007, when he was playing with his band 30 Seconds to Mars. She found his vibe intense to the point of weirdness but never imagined he would have any interest in the young female fans. In 2026, Leto was accused by four women of criminal sexual conduct, with alleged offences taking place when the women were teenagers. He vigorously denies the allegations.
The spotlight has also turned on David Walliams, after accounts from women who had relationships with him as teenagers and now consider it grooming. He denies any wrongdoing beyond hurting their feelings. Walliams had sold £156m-worth of books in the UK alone, which Heawood suggests is why his industry protected him for so long.
The illusion of access and the star's cover
Heawood explains that celebrities are surrounded by layers of intermediaries, and interviewers rarely have their phone numbers. She notes that impressionable young fans were made to feel special by stars such as Walliams getting in touch directly from their own number.
She recalls interviewing a celebrity at her home in West Hollywood, where they shared jokes about being chocoholics. As soon as she left, the celebrity called her agent to say she should be fired. Heawood learned that the star is never your friend; you are their conduit, and sometimes their cover.
