Six More Women Accuse Russell Brand After Prison Sentence of 10-Plus Years
Six more women have accused comedian Russell Brand, 51, of sexual misconduct and predatory behaviour, according to a newspaper investigation. The claims could not be reported until his criminal case ended. He has been sentenced to more than 10 years in prison.
Comedian Russell Brand, 51, has been accused of sexual misconduct and predatory behaviour by six more women, according to a newspaper investigation published after he was sentenced to more than 10 years in prison.
The allegations could not be reported until his criminal case ended, to avoid prejudicing the proceedings. The newspapers said they took "extensive steps" to corroborate the claims and that none of the sources were paid.
The conviction
Brand was convicted of raping a 21-year-old fan and sexually assaulting three women in separate incidents between 2004 and 2009. A jury at Southwark crown court in London cleared him of two further charges of rape and one of attempted indecent assault.
What the six women allege
One woman said she had an on-off relationship with Brand in the late 2000s after a professional meeting at his London home. She said she told him to stop when she noticed he was not wearing a condom. "I said: 'No, stop,' and I started to sort of try and move," she said. She added that she decided not to fight because "who knows what he could do".
She said Brand later apologised in person and by text. "I justified it in my head by saying to myself: at least he admitted it," she said.
A second woman, who met Brand in 2007 aged 19 while queueing with a friend, said she told him during sex: "It's painful." She alleged he did not stop. She claimed he said afterwards: "Tonight was consensual. Nobody did anything they didn't want to do."
A third woman, then in her late 20s, said she met Brand after a 2013 show at The Chapel in San Francisco. She claimed he "manhandled" her and forced his hand down her trousers. "I didn't resist. I just sort of let it happen," she said.
A fourth woman, then in her mid-twenties, said Brand approached her at a music festival in 2005. She said he told her: "Please I just need to have sex with you, I will pay you."
A fifth woman said she won a BBC 6 Music competition in 2006 and was invited onto his show. She claimed he later told her to lick a toilet seat at his house and "got angry" when she refused.
The sixth woman worked at a London venue Brand visited regularly in 2015. She said a member of his staff told her, "Russell wants you," and that he was in the disabled toilets. She said Brand grabbed her when she went in with toilet paper.
Brand's response
The newspapers approached Brand through his legal representatives after his conviction. His lawyer reportedly said he would consider "injunctive relief" but sent no response to the allegations, even after an agreed deadline passed. Brand has previously denied wrongdoing and claimed all his relationships were consensual.
