A London court on Tuesday was played a police interview in which an accuser alleged that British actor and comedian Russell Brand anally raped her after she willingly went to his house for consensual sex, ignoring her pleas for him to stop.
Brand, who was formerly one of Britain’s most high-profile broadcasters and was previously married to U.S. singer Katy Perry, is currently on trial at Southwark Crown Court. The 51-year-old faces charges of three counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault, and one count of indecent assault involving six women between the years of 1999 and 2009.
Brand has denied all allegations. Following his arrest, he told police that he had never engaged in non-consensual sexual activity and suggested that the accusers might have re-imagined the events.
On Tuesday during the second week of the trial, the court heard testimony from the final three complainants. In the police interview played to the courtroom, the woman recounted that she had been a massive fan of the comedian when she met him in 2009. She stated that Brand had “selected” her and a friend in the foyer after one of his gigs to go for a drink.
Later that evening, she and another woman accompanied him to his dressing room for a sexual encounter, though she did not have penetrative sex with him at that time. According to her statement, Brand contacted her numerous times over the following week, leading her to knowingly and willingly agree to visit his home to have sex with him.
Upon her arrival, Brand told her, “this is the best decision you’ve ever made,” the woman told police. She recalled that Brand made her shower because her hair “smelled funny” and brush her teeth, describing the instructions as “really weird.”
During their sexual encounter, she said Brand turned her over onto her front and anally raped her without warning or permission, despite her telling him to stop. Afterwards, she said he looked horrified and she initially thought he was going to apologize. Instead, she testified that he told her, “you need to clear up the mess” that she had made.
She stated that she complied while Brand watched television briefly, took a phone call, and then left the room. Afterward, she told her mother and visited a sexual health clinic for testing out of fear she might have contracted HIV.
“It’s something that has lived with me ever since,” she said during the tearful police interview, adding that she blamed herself for years. She explained that she decided to speak out because she no longer wanted to carry the burden or let it live inside her.
Earlier in the proceedings, another complainant testified that Brand had molested her at a radio station in 2004 or 2005, describing the alleged assault as “frenzied” before she managed to push him away. A sixth woman alleged that Brand assaulted her while she was working at the Channel 4 television station where they were involved in a recording project, stating that she was forced into giving him a massage during which he put his head between her legs. She added that she had reported the incident to her line manager at the time.
The trial is scheduled to continue on Wednesday.
