Russell Brand's former girlfriend Jordan Martin has told a new documentary that he made her "brush her teeth until she bled" as fresh allegations against the disgraced comic emerged.
The comedian was jailed for more than ten years after being found guilty of raping one woman and sexually assaulting three others earlier this week. In 'Russell Brand: Open Secret', a wave of those once close to him make new claims about the TV personality.
Fresh allegations in documentary
The documentary also charts his rise to international fame and his downfall after he was imprisoned. One victim tells the programme of an alleged attack: "I kept saying no, I said stop. I begged him, I literally begged him."
An anonymous woman, given the name Emily in the documentary, claims she "questioned herself" after an alleged attack because they were together at the time. Emily recalls meeting Brand when he was not yet famous and describes his "magnetic personality".
In allegations not heard in Brand's recent court case, Emily alleges: "We had woken up in the morning, and I understood that he wanted to have sex. I said to him, 'Please just get a condom', and he was being all playful, saying to me that he wants to feel close to me, and I said to him, 'You can still feel close to me, but please, you have to use protection'."
She continued: "It stopped being playful, and then I thought, no, this guy is actually getting really serious. I kept saying no. I kept saying no. I said, 'Stop, Russell! Stop! Please don't! Please!' I begged him. I tried to kick him off. I tried to draw my knees back to kick him in his belly, but he was too strong for me, and he just pinned my hands back behind my head, and he just forced himself into me."
Apology text after alleged rape
A second woman, known as Nadia, told The Times investigation into Brand how she was attacked in 2012 and pinned against a wall before he allegedly raped her. Afterwards, at 3.29am, Brand sent Nadia a text: "I'm sorry. That was crazy and selfish. I hope you can forgive me, I know that you're a lovely person. X." He tried phoning her at 3.51am, but the call went unanswered.
Nadia responded via text: "Do you know how scary you are when that glazed look comes over you? When a girl says no, it means no. Do I have to go and get myself tested?" Brand says she does not need to get tested. Journalist Charlotte Wace tells the documentary: "He had the opportunity to defend himself against that accusation, and instead he responded with an apology."
Brushing teeth till they bled
Jordan Martin broke down in tears as she recalled their relationship. They got together in 2007 around the time he landed a Hollywood job on the 2008 movie Forgetting Sarah Marshall. She said: "I'd given up on love, and Russell texted me. I thought he was funny. I wanted to hang out with him. He asked me to stay in his apartment and I was like, 'Why not? A bit of fun'."
She said it began normally in the UK, but when she went out to join him during filming, he refused to sunbathe with her and accused her of flirting with other crew. Referring to their time in Hawaii, she added: "He would say things like, 'Oh, you're dressing like an attention-seeking tart'. He said 'Oh, from now on, just wear black'."
She also alleges he sexually assaulted her on another occasion when he was angry and had a pattern of controlling behaviour. Jordan said: "He wanted me to taste anonymous. He didn't want me to be familiar to him, and so he was asking me to brush my teeth, but it just was never enough. And so he's standing over me, and I'm brushing, and I'm brushing, and then I'm seeing my teeth bleeding."
Speaking of an alleged assault, she added: "He asked me who I was on the phone to, and I told him I just need to get my bag back from, and so he snatched my phone out my hand and like broke it apart into pieces. He walked in, he didn't say anything, he put his hand down the front of my jeans and he inserted a finger, and then walked away."
Switched personalities after becoming famous
One of his first girlfriends, Amanda Alguero Alejos, told how he changed when he began doing stand-up comedy and had female fans. She said: "We fell in love, it was my first love. I was so nervous. We did everything together, we went to Paris, Bali, he used to write for me poetry. We talk about a big house and a big family."
She spoke of his drug use increasing: "He used to take drugs like a recreation, smoking joints, but he always is looking for something more. He was taking a lot of drugs, cocaine and heroin." As his fame grew, she added: "He admitted that he had a sex addiction. I used to be in love with this guy and he's totally different. I felt something dark he had inside and I left forever."
Comedians Nish Kumar and Harriet Kemsley also discuss how his behaviour became a well-known fact on the comedy circuit. Nish said: "People were threatened that if they spoke about it, there would be legal action brought against them." He added: "It does seem he got his material from his real life. When you look back at the material he was sort of bragging about the things he was doing which is obviously sort of bleak now."
He later adds: "Russell didn't do what he did because he was called talent. My personal belief is he would have done it anyway, but the problem is being called talent facilitated it and enabled it and certainly prolonged it in ways that I think we should all be ashamed about."
The documentary also looks at how Brand was eventually brought to court, beginning with the Dispatches investigation for Channel 4 in September 2023, alongside The Times and Sunday Times, which led to the women coming forward and ultimately the four convictions against Brand. It includes "insight into Brand's life" from The Times and The Sunday Times by chief media correspondent Rosamund Urwin and investigations correspondent Charlotte Wace.
Brand 'wrestling' with girl
One of Brand's former best friends, Mark Pinheiro, speaks to the documentary about how they became friends after meeting at a theatre course. Mark helped him film a show reel to get a job at MTV, which would be his first step towards fame. Mark recalls a time he shared a flat with Brand and he appeared to be forcing a girl to stay in his room after they were arguing.
Mark said: "I open the door to see Russell basically holding on to the girl with both his hands, gripping hold of her arm. She was wrestling herself away from him. As I switch the light on, he lets go. She said 'Listen, you saw what happened, didn't you?'. I said 'Well if you want to report it, feel free and I will support you'. Whether she reported it, I don't know."
Over his two-decade career, he also cemented his status through his marriage to singer Katy Perry and his appearances on TV, radio, stage, and podcasts. The documentary will also examine how he eventually became a "political activist and YouTuber known for spouting conspiracy theories" in the early 2020s.
It will then follow his criminal trial at Southwark Crown Court, where he was convicted of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault against four victims. He is expected to serve two-thirds of his prison sentence before being released on licence, and will be on the sex offenders' register for life.
Director Olivia Isaacs said: "We wanted to look at it more widely, broadly, to try and get an understanding of Russell Brand, who he is, the worlds that he occupied and lived in. And to understand why the allegations didn't come to light sooner and just what it took to get to the point, decades after the rumors start[ed]."
She credits earlier reporting by The Times and Channel 4 work with the survivors who came forward in 2023. But she says the documentary has further new distressing claims and concerns. "We quickly realized there's much more out there, unfortunately. And there's a pattern of behavior that we were uncovering," she says, pointing out coercive control and emotional abuse in the testimony.
Russell Brand: Open Secret is available to stream on Netflix.
