17th September, 2023
British comedian and actor Russell Brand has firmly denied any criminal wrongdoing in response to a report alleging sexual assaults.
The Sunday Times reported that Brand assaulted four women and raped one of them during a seven-year period when he was at the height of his fame.
Although the newspaper did not specify if any of the women had filed complaints with the police, it did note that the alleged incidents happened between 2006 and 2013.
The Times mentioned that one woman had accused Brand of rape, while another stated that Brand assaulted her when she was 16 and still in school. According to the paper, two of the accusers claimed the incidents took place in Los Angeles.
In a video message posted on social media, Brand responded to the accusations by stating that they contained “a litany of extremely egregious and aggressive attacks as well as some pretty stupid stuff.”
“I don’t mind them using my books and my stand-up to talk about my promiscuous consensual conduct in the past… What I seriously refute are these very, very serious criminal allegations.”
“But amidst this litany of astonishing, rather baroque attacks, are some very serious allegations that I absolutely refute,” he added.
Brand, 48, acknowledged that during the period when the alleged incidents occurred, he was highly promiscuous but maintained that all his relationships were entirely consensual.
He married Katy Perry in a lavish wedding in India in 2010 but filed for divorce just 14 months later.
Brand has since shifted his focus to online projects and has garnered a substantial following for his podcasts and social media shows.