Warner Bros. Discovery has reportedly told a U.S. court that it is ready to hand over Arthur outtakes as part of a civil sexual assault case against Russell Brand, according to The Times of London.
Brand and Warner Bros. were sued in 2023 by an actress identified as Jane Doe, who claimed that Brand exposed himself on the set of Arthur. She also alleged that Brand followed her into a bathroom and assaulted her while a member of the production crew guarded the door. Brand and Warner Bros., named as a defendant, deny wrongdoing.
During a New York Supreme Court hearing last week, Patrick Lamparello, an attorney for Warner Bros., offered to disclose unseen footage from 2010 feature Arthur. Per The Times, he said the company had “some hours of video outtake footage … four or five hours, it could be more, around eight.” Warner Bros. Discovery has been approached for comment.
The hearing took place in the same week that Brand, 50, was charged by UK authorities with five counts of rape and sexual assault. He has been summoned to Westminster Magistrates’ Court on May 2. Brand said last week that he has “never engaged in non-consensual activity.”
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During the New York Supreme Court hearing, Brand’s lawyers sought to delay the civil case, suggesting it could overlap with criminal proceedings in the UK. The judge rejected the request.
Brand’s lawyer, Mark Cuccaro, added that the former actor and comedian fears he could face criminal proceedings in the U.S., though the Los Angeles Police Department does not have an open investigation. Cuccaro said Brand had a “reasonable belief criminal prosecution is possible in the U.S. based on allegations tantamount to criminal sexual misconduct occurring in the U.S., of which he has been falsely accused both by this civil plaintiff and several others through the media.”
In an interview with The Sunday Times in 2023, Brand’s Arthur accuser said: “I felt used and abused. Disgusting is the only word. I felt like I was being used, that I was just an object for his momentary titillation.” She added: “Everyone usually turns a blind eye to bad behaviour on a set. If I had come forward and said something to, say, even a production assistant on the set, what are they going to do? Are they going to fire Russell Brand, or are they going to fire me?”
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