Russell Brand: Comedian ‘raped a woman after Labour Party conference’, court hears
Comedian and actor Russell Brand has been granted bail over historic rape and sexual assault charges at Westminster magistrates’ court on Friday 2nd May. He did not enter a plea for any of the charges. The dad-of-two appeared in the London alongside his minders and solicitor, Oliver Schneider-Sikorsky, who successfully defended Kevin Spacey against sex assault allegations in 2023.

During the brief hearing the court heard allegations that Russell Brand raped a woman in a hotel room following a Labour Party Conference. It was claimed that after meeting that day at a theatrical event in Bournemouth in 1999, the woman went to the bathroom and Brand removed some of his clothing and later pushed her on the bed, removed her underwear and raped her.

He was charged last month with one count each of rape, indecent assault and oral rape, as well as two counts of sexual assault, relating to four separate women. The 49-year-old is accused of incidents between 1999 and 2005 in Bournemouth and the Westminster area of London.

In a video posted on X after he was charged, the comedian said: “I am now going to have the opportunity to defend these charges in court, and I’m incredibly grateful for that.” He continued: “I’ve always told you guys that when I was young and single before I had a wife and family, who are there just out of shot. I was a fool, man, I was a fool before I lived in the light of the Lord. I was a drug addict, a sex addict, and an imbecile but what I never was, was a rapist. I’ve never engaged in non-consensual activity, and I pray that you can see that in my eyes.”

The move to charge the Hollywood star came after detectives launched an investigation into his behaviour in September 2023 after receiving a number of allegations following reporting by Channel 4’s Dispatches and The Sunday Times. The Metropolitan Police in announced in April that Brand had been charged with the rape of a woman in 1999 in the Bournemouth area and the oral rape and sexual assault of a woman in 2004 in the Westminster area of London.

Brand is also charged with indecently assaulting a woman in 2001 and sexually assaulting another woman between 2004 and 2005 – both alleged to have taken place in Westminster, London.

Jaswant Narwal, of the Crown Prosecution Service said in a statement at the time: “We carefully reviewed the evidence after a police investigation into allegations made following the broadcast of a Channel 4 documentary in September 2023. We have concluded that Russell Brand should be charged with offences including rape, sexual assault and indecent assault.

“These relate to reported non-recent offences between 1999 and 2005, involving four women. He will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court for a first hearing on Friday May 2 2025. The Crown Prosecution Service reminds everyone that criminal proceedings are active, and the defendant has the right to a fair trial. It is extremely important that there be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings.”