Actor and comedian Russell Brand pleaded not guilty in a London court on Friday, accusing four women of rape and sexual assault, dating back more than 25 years.
Brand, who turns 50 next week, refused to do two counts of rape, two sexual assaults and one count of indecent assault. He said “not guilty” after each charge was read on South Work Crown Court.
His trial is scheduled for June 3, 2026 and is expected to last four to five weeks.
Prosecutors said the crime occurred between 1999 and 2005.
Brand did not speak to reporters. He arrived at court wearing a black collared shirt under his chest, a black collared shirt, and black jeans, and dark sunglasses. With his right hand he grabbed a copy of The Vision of Vision, a collection of Puritan prayers.
Actor-comedian Russell Brand arrived at South Work Crown Court on May 30, 2025 in London, England on charges of rape, indecent assault and two counts of sexual assault involving four women.
Rasid Necati Aslim/Anadolu via Getty Images
He won him as a Greek actor known for his stand-up routine, a fight against drugs and alcohol, and in recent years he dropped out of mainstream media, building a massive follow-up online with videos mixing wellness and plot theories about religion.
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In a five-minute prayer video he posted on social media on Monday, the brand wrote: “Jesus, thank you for saving my life.”
When the charges were announced last month, he said he welcomed the opportunity to prove his innocence.
“I was an idiot before I lived mainly,” he said on a social media video. “I was a drug addict, a sex addict, and absurd. But I was never a rapist. I never engaged in any of the activities I had agreed to.
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Brand has been accused of raping a woman in a hotel room in Bournemouth when he attended the 1999 Labour Party Conference and met him at an event where he was performing. The woman claims that the brand was stripped while she was in the bathroom, and when she returned to the room he pushed her onto the bed, stripped her underwear and raped her.
The second woman said Brand grabbed her forearm and tried to drag her into a man's toilet on a London TV station in 2001.
The third accuser is a television employee who met the brand at a birthday party at a bar in 2004, and he allegedly grabbed her by the breasts and pulled her into the toilet, forcing her to have oral sex.
The ultimate accuser worked for radio stations and met the brand between 2004 and 2005 while working on a spin-off of Big Brother reality TV show. She said Brand grabbed her in the face with both hands, pressed her against the wall, and kissed her before groping for her breasts and ass.
The Associated Press has not been named a victim of alleged sexual violence, and UK law protects identity from the media forever.
If you or someone you know is experiencing abuse or is involved in an abusive situation, help the victims of crime for the Canadian Resource Center. You can also reach the free you can reach on 1-877-232-2610.
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