Mark Pinheiro, who once shared a flat with Russell Brand, has described an incident in which he stepped in after hearing a woman shouting from Brand's bedroom. His account features in the new Netflix documentary Russell Brand: Open Secret, released on Friday, November 13, which examines Brand's career and the investigations into allegations against him through insider interviews and archival footage.
Housemate's account of the incident
In the film, Pinheiro recalled the moment Brand brought a woman back to their flat. "I remember one time, Russell comes home, and he's brought a girl, and he's got her into his bedroom, and it was getting really calamitous in the room, you're hearing loads of noise, and you can hear the girl shouting, 'Let go of me!' I'm thinking, 'This has gone on long enough,'" he said.
Pinheiro continued: "And so, I open up my door, and I see Russell basically holding onto the girl with both of his hands, gripping hold of her arm, like trying to pull her back in, like a tug of war, and she's wrestling herself away from him. And then, as I switch the light on, the light comes on, and he lets go." He added that the woman then asked if he had seen what happened, and he replied, "Well, if you want to report it, feel free, and I will support you." He said he does not know whether she reported it.
Investigation and documentary context
Rosamund Urwin, who led The Times and The Sunday Times' investigation into Brand, commented: "The fundamental thing here was you had somebody who said, 'I'm this playboy. It's all great, everyone's enjoying the sex they have with me. It's all wonderful.' But actually, there was this really darker side to it."
The documentary also includes a "sickening" clip of a young Brand and his father, Ron, discussing having sex with prostitutes in the same room. The clip, originally broadcast in the first episode of Brand's 2002 television series RE:Brand, recently went viral on social media. In it, Brand asks his dad, "Do you remember that first night? When you had that other one, and I had that lovely, young Filipino one, didn't I?" Ron replied, "You fell in love every time." Brand added that the woman said she had to leave before she fell in love with him, to which his father responded from the other bed, "Oh, bleeding hell! Oh, I'm going to be sick," as the pair laughed.
Verdict and sentencing
Earlier this month, a London court found Brand guilty of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault. He was sentenced to 10 years and six months in prison.
Olivia Isaacs, director of the documentary, said: "[The verdict] is a significant moment but doesn't change what the film is: a deeper look at how this was possible and how it stayed hidden for so long." She added: "The trial of Russell Brand drew a huge amount of attention to the work of Rosamund Urwin and Charlotte Wace, and the incredible bravery of the victims in speaking out. I'm glad that this film demonstrates the complexity of a story like this and the huge impact it has on those trying to bring stories of abuse to light."
Russell Brand: Open Secret is streaming on Netflix.
