British comedian-actor Russell Brand will stand before a jury in the UK this month, at the climax of a years-long legal saga that centers on a history of sexual assault allegations against multiple women in the UK from the late 1990s to recent days.
The criminal trial against Brand, the former star of R-rated comedies “Get Him to the Greek” and “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”, began with jury selection at Southwark Crown Court on Monday. The trial will continue towards the end of this week and the prosecution will present its case against the 51-year-old actor. Brand faces a total of seven charges, including three counts of rape and three counts of sexual assault, stemming from alleged interactions with six different women. The actor has pleaded not guilty to all seven charges, and his trial is expected to last up to 10 weeks, according to the Associated Press.
Brand, the ex-husband of pop star Katy Perry, was famous in his teens and 2010s for films such as “Bedtime Stories,” “Despicable Me,” “Arthur,” “Rock of Ages” and “Trolls.” In recent years it has moved away from the Hollywood spotlight and instead turned its focus to religious and “free thought” content. He specifically put forward conspiracy theories about vaccines and the September 11 attacks.
Read on for the events that led to Brand’s case, from the Times of London and Channel 4’s scathing joint investigation in 2023 to the allegations against the former comedian. Below are graphic details of the sexual assault.
September 2023: Times of London, Channel 4 investigation unearths allegations against Brand
British comedian-actor Russell Brand is leaving London’s Southwark Crown Court in 2025.
(Alastair Grant / Associated Press)
Brand played overly sexual, womanizing types on screen, but he also gained a reputation for inappropriate behavior off-screen. In 2006, Australian singer Dannii Minogue recalled a comment Brand had made about her breasts, and the comedian called the actor “a bit of a vile predator”. During an interview in 2012, Brand held Australian journalist Liz Hayes’s head in his hands, kissed her face and placed his hands on her body. Still, it would be more than a decade before Brand would be publicly accused of sexual assault.
Brand largely faded from public view after his return from Hollywood, but a joint investigation by the Times of London and Britain’s Channel 4 in 2023 brought him back into the spotlight. Channel 4’s “Dispatches” news program and the Times of London reported on allegations that Brand sexually assaulted numerous women between 2006 and 2013, at the height of his career. Brand preliminarily denied the allegations, saying in a video posted on his YouTube channel that he denies “very, very serious criminal allegations” that will emerge against him.
“The relationships I have had have been absolutely and always consensual,” he said at the time.
According to the Times of London, a woman accused Brand of raping her while she was leaning against a wall in her Los Angeles home in 2012. The woman was treated at a rape crisis center and Brand allegedly texted her to apologize for his “crazy and selfish” behavior.
During the investigation, another woman testified that Brand sexually assaulted her when she was 16 and he was 31. Brand reportedly forced his penis down her throat, making it difficult for her to breathe, and Brand struggled with her by punching her in the stomach. He confirmed the relationship earlier this year, stating that he felt his fame and addiction paved the way for “infinite opportunities for consent that led me to be a hedonist, a fool, and an exploiter of women.”
The joint investigation also uncovered allegations from a woman who said she met Brand at Alcoholics Anonymous and later worked with him. She alleged that Brand sexually assaulted her at his West Hollywood property before a group meeting in 2013. The Times of London report also included Brand’s other allegations of workplace misconduct and inappropriate comments.
November 2023: Brand faces additional allegations of workplace sexual misconduct
Russell Brand, seen at the 2011 New York premiere of “Arthur”, allegedly sexually assaulted a woman and exposed himself while on the set of the movie.
(Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images)
Brand faced additional scrutiny in November over allegations of misconduct while working on the 2011 film “Arthur” and while serving as a radio host for the BBC.
One of the accusers, identified in court documents as “Jane Doe,” filed a sexual assault complaint against the actress in New York, alleging that the actor sexually assaulted her on set in July 2010 when she “appeared drunk, smelled of alcohol, and was carrying a bottle of vodka on set.” She also accused Brand of flashing his genitals to her in full view of the cast and crew of “Arthur.”
Later that month, five people complained about Brand’s behavior as a BBC radio presenter from 2006 to 2008. Among the complaints at the heart of the BBC investigation was an allegation that Brand exposed himself to a woman at the BBC’s Los Angeles office.
April 2025: Police lay first charge against Brand for sex crimes in the UK
Brand faced formal sex crime charges almost two years after a joint investigation by the Times of London and Channel 4. The Metropolitan Police Service announced in April 2025 that the actor had been charged with single counts of rape, indecent assault, oral rape, and two counts of sexual assault.
Police said the charges are linked to allegations of assault against multiple women from 1999 to 2005. At the time, prosecutors accused Brand of raping a woman in England’s seaside town of Bournemouth in 1999. Brand was also alleged to have indecently assaulted a second woman in 2001, orally raped and sexually assaulted a third woman in 2004, and sexually assaulted a fourth woman between 2004 and 2005. According to British officials, the allegations occurred in Westminster.
“We carefully reviewed the evidence following the police investigation into the allegations made following the broadcast of the Channel 4, Sunday Times and Times investigation in September 2023,” prosecutors said in a statement in April 2025.
Brand maintained his innocence in a video, telling his followers: “I always told you, when I was young and single, before I had a wife and a family… I was a fool, man.”
“Before I lived in the light of the Lord, I was a fool. A drug addict, a sex addict, and an imbecile,” he said at the time. “But I have never been a rapist. I have never engaged in non-consensual activities. I pray that you can understand that by looking into my eyes.”
He pleaded not guilty to these charges in May 2025, and a hearing on these charges was originally scheduled for June 2026. More accusations followed.
December 2025: Brand faces additional sex crime charges
The irreverent comedian-turned-religious content creator was later accused of another count of rape and another count of sexual assault stemming from allegations made by two women. Prosecutors said the alleged incidents occurred in 2009. He did not accept these accusations.
Before entering his defense earlier this year, Brand addressed his ongoing legal battle in a video he shared with his social media followers. “I’ve learned in my own life that aggression can bring grace,” he said, adding that he felt grateful for the opportunity to atone for the unspecified “many things I’ve done wrong over the years.”
“There will be big, phased wars – I don’t want to say wars… I’ll call them ‘trials’,” Brand said in his video ahead of 2026.