Russell Brand pleads not guilty to rape and assault in court

On 30 May, Russell Brand pleaded not guilty to charges of rape, sexual assault and indecent assault appearing in Southwark Crown Court.

The controversial figure faces one allegation of rape, one of indecent assault, one of oral rape and two further counts of sexual assault. The offences, relating to four women, are alleged to have taken place between 1999 and 2005 in the London and Bournemouth area. 

Brand appeared in court wearing a dark suit and button-shirt. He spoke only to confirm his name and reply “not guilty” to each charge. 

The BBC reports Brand is accused of oral rape and sexual assault against one of the women in July 2004, and is accused of raping another woman in 1999.

He is also charged with indecently assaulting a woman by grabbing her arm and dragging her towards a male toilet in 2001, and with sexually assaulting a different woman by kissing and groping her in 2004 or 2005.

The Independent reported that in a now-deleted video recording of Richard Herring’s Leicester Square Theatre Podcast from 2013, published by MailOnline, Brand said: “I’m just a bloke from Essex, from a single-parent family, that is a pretty comprehensive show-off…Oh and also I raped someone once. I killed her after, she’ll never tell.”

Channel 4’s Dispatches aired an investigative documentary which included an allegation that Brand assaulted a woman when she was a 16-year-old schoolgirl. The woman accused Brand of coaching her on how to deceive her parents and hide his phone number in her phone. 

In the same video, Brand also joked about ancient Greek culture of men having sexual relations with children. 

He said: “They didn’t mind it.

“And they was clever, coming up with triangles every few seconds.

“‘I’ve done another triangle. I’m f****** a little kid. This is great. F*** the kid with the triangle! Hey, that’s too much. I took it too far.'”

Brand is now scheduled to face trial, due to begin on 3 June 2026, with a pre-trial review scheduled for 20 May 2026. 

The media personality will remain on bail until his trial begins.

In April, Brand released a video via social media denying any claims that he had engaged in non-consensual activity. 

He said: "I'm now going to have the opportunity to defend these charges in court and I'm incredibly grateful for that.”