Russell Brand Charged With Rape, Sexual Assault in U.K.

Russell Brand is facing rape and assault charges in London over alleged incidents with four separate women between 1999 and 2005. Per the BBC, the comedian has been charged with one count of rape from 1999, one count of indecent assault from 2001, one count of oral rape as well as one count of sexual assault from 2004, and another count of sexual assault from between 2004 and 2005. Brand denied wrongdoing in a video posted to Instagram, maintaining he’s “never engaged in nonconsensual activity” while also criticizing the U.K. government. “I was a fool before I lived in the light of the Lord,” Brand stated. “I was a drug addict, a sex addict, and an imbecile, but what I never was was a rapist.”

These are the first criminal charges leveled against Brand since a bombshell September 2023 report in which four women accused him of sexual assault — including one who was 16 at the time of the alleged crime. However, those incidents, which allegedly occurred between 2006 and 2013, do not seem to be the ones Brand is now facing charges for. Days after the report, police confirmed they received a separate allegation against Brand from 2003. Brand denied all allegations at the time, saying that while he’d once been “very, very promiscuous,” his sexual relationships “were absolutely always consensual” in that era.

Brand has a court hearing in London on May 2, though police said he is currently believed to be in the United States. In his response, Brand stopped short of admitting he would return to the U.K. for the hearing. “Of course, I’m now gonna have the opportunity to defend these charges in court, and I’m incredibly grateful for that,” Brand said. The Times previously reported he moved to Florida last fall. On the streaming platform Rumble earlier this year, Brand said he’d left the U.K. “because I personally have experienced how the media, government, and judiciary — if you suddenly become an inconvenience — will find ways to attack and shut you down.” If Brand does not cooperate with the London Metropolitan Police, then U.K. authorities will have to seek his extradition from the U.S. But that could be complicated by Brand’s support for and cozy relationship with President Donald Trump.

This story has been updated throughout with a statement from Brand.