Russell Brand has been charged with rape, indecent assault and sexual assault by London’s Metropolitan Police.
The police has said in the past few minutes that the comedian and TV host will be charged with one count of rape, one count of indecent assault, one count of oral rape and two counts of sexual assault after detectives started investigating 18 months back.
The investigation was sparked by allegations reported by Channel 4 and The Sunday Times. The charges relate to four separate women. It has been alleged that Brand raped a woman in Bournemouth in 1999, indecently assaulted a woman in 2001 in Westminster, London, orally raped and sexually assaulted a woman in Westminster in 2004, and between 2004 and 2005 sexually assaulted a woman, also in Westminster.
A statement said the police had “issued a charge and requisition” to the 50-year-old, whose residence was listed as Oxfordshire, South England.
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“The women who have made reports continue to receive support from specially trained officers,” said DS Andy Furphy. “The Met’s investigation remains open and detectives ask anyone who has been affected by this case, or anyone who has any information, to come forward and speak with police. A dedicated team of investigators is available via email at [email protected].”
Brand is down to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday May 2. He has been working and living in the U.S. full time of late, saying recently on his Rumble platform: “I don’t live in the United Kingdom any more 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.” Brand could now be detained by U.S. police under an international arrest warrant and The Home Office would have to submit a formal extradition request to Washington on behalf of the CPS to seek his return to Britain to stand trial. We have reached out to the Home Office for comment.
The revelations on Channel 4 and in the Sunday Times led to much anger and introspection. Since then, the BBC, Channel 4 and Big Brother producer Banijay have all led internal probes, having worked with Brand on shows up until late last decade. All these probes have led to apologies and further revelations. The most recent report from the BBC found that staff at the UK broadcaster’s L.A. bureau had “joked about” an incident in which the star was alleged to have exposed himself to a woman in a bathroom. Channel 4’s, published almost exactly a year ago, unearthed “two new worrying allegations” against Brand, who had worked on Celebrity Bake Off as recently as 2018.
Brand was also accused in a lawsuit of sexually assaulting a film extra on the New York City set of the 2011 romantic comedy Arthur. He has always denied all charges and said all relationships were consensual.
From the mid-noughties onwards, Brand was first a big UK star on the stand-up comedy circuit and on numerous TV shows, and then cracked America, appearing in movies such as Get Him to the Greek, Forgetting Sarah Marshall and then hosting a show on MSNBC.
Prior to the Channel 4-Sunday Times allegations, Brand slipped out of mainstream view but started amassing huge followings from right-wing fans on first YouTube and then the Rumble platform, on which he has 1.4 million followers. He has been seen several times of late at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort and has spoken frequently of his affinity for Trump.
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