As Russell Brand pleads not guilty to rape and sexual assault allegations, we detail his rise to - and fall from – fame

Russell Brand has pleaded not guilty to charges of rape and sexual assault.

The comedian, 49, appeared in Southwark Crown Court to respond to five sexual assault charges, that took place between 1999 and 2005 and that involve four different women.

It's alleged that the incidents include a woman who claims she was raped by the comic in Bournemouth in 1999, a woman who says she was indecently assaulted in the Westminster area of London in 2001, another woman who claims to have been orally raped and sexually assaulted in 2004, and fourth woman who says she was sexually assaulted in London in 2005.

Brand, who flew over from the United States for the court appearance, seemed calm as he approached the court.

Wearing an all-black suit with aviator sunglasses, the former actor was also seen carrying a prayer book ahead of his hearing.

After pleading not guilty to all five offences, the court heard that Brand will face trial to last between four and five weeks, set to commence on 3 June 2026.

He will remain on conditional bail until that time.

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Speaking about the charges on X, Brand said he welcomed them as they allowed him the opportunity to defend himself in court. He has always denied any allegations of wrongdoing, saying he is the victim of witch hunt for daring to speak out against the mainstream media and the 'elites' of the world.

"When I was young and single, before I had my wife and family, I was a fool [...] before I lived in the light of the lord. What I never was, was a rapist. I've never engaged in non-consensual activity," he said via a tweeted video, in which he also claims the law is being used as a 'weapon'. "I'm now going to have the opportunity to defend these charges in court and I'm incredibly grateful for that."

The in-depth investigation by The Times, the Sunday Times and Channel 4's Dispatches, detailed the stories of multiple women, alleging incidents spanning the course of 2006 to 2013, many during the peak of his fame. One said she was a teenager at the time she first became intimate with Brand and that he would send a car to collect her from school.

Following the investigation, Brand's former employer, Channel 4, admitted to The Times that a previous allegation against him had not been passed up to more senior managers and that it had not been “investigated as it ought to have been, in accordance with the procedures in place at the time”. Channel 4 also apologised to the former employee for its failings in handling the complaint “and the distress this matter has caused”.

Brand is a comedian and actor who has always courted controversy, who spoke openly about his sexual prowess and preferences.

Here, Cosmopolitan UK chronicles Brand’s staggering rise to fame, and the celebrity status he held when the incidents are alleged to have taken place.

One of Brand’s earliest roles was as a video journalist at MTV in 2000, where he presented the Dancefloor Chart. He was fired from the channel in 2001 after he turned up to work dressed as Osama Bin Laden, the day after the September 11 attacks.

He was similarly fired from his radio show on XFM in 2002, after he read pornographic material live on air.

It was after Brand went to rehab in 2003, to get clean from an alcohol and drug addiction, that he started to have mainstream success.

Brand was hired to be the host of Big Brother’s Eforum in 2004. A spin-off show to the main action from the house, the programme gave ordinary people and celebrities to share their opinion on the housemates. The show was rebranded Big Brother’s Big Mouth in 2005. He left the show in 2007.

In 2006, Brand co-hosted The Russell Brand Show on BBC Radio 6 Music. It proved popular – the show transferred to BBC Radio 2 in November that year, airing on Saturdays from 9 to 11pm.

Brand’s behaviour became more brash during this period. In 2007, he made a phone call to Jimmy Saville before his extensive child sex abuse crimes were made public knowledge. In this phone call, Brand said he’d send his “very attractive” personal assistant to “massage” Saville, as Saville joked she’d have to do it naked.

Brand was sacked from the BBC in 2008, following the infamous Sachsgate incident. He and fellow comedian Jonathan Ross left a series of inappropriate messages on former Fawlty Towers star Andrew Sachs’s answerphone, where they discussed how Brand had previously had a fling with Georgina Baillie – Sachs’s granddaughter.

Georgina Baillie was joked about by Brand in the now infamous phone call

Following the allegations, a BBC spokesperson said: “Russell Brand worked for a number of different organisations, of which the BBC was one. As is well known, Russell Brand left the BBC after a serious editorial breach in 2008 - as did the then-controller of Radio 2.

"The circumstances of the breach were reviewed in detail at the time. We hope that demonstrates that the BBC takes issues seriously and is prepared to act.

"Indeed, the BBC has, over successive years, evolved its approach to how it manages talent and how it deals with complaints or issues raised.

"We have clear expectations around conduct at work. These are set out in employment contracts, the BBC Values, the BBC code of conduct and the anti-bullying and harassment policy."

Having previously had bit parts in some films, Brand made his Hollywood breakthrough in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, where he played rockstar Aldous Snow, in 2008. It was a role he reprised in 2010 buddy comedy movie Get Him to the Greek, where he met Katy Perry. The pair married in India in 2010, with Brand divorcing her, reportedly by text, in 2012.

The film roles and superstar wife made Brand a household name across the pond, landing him his own late night talk show, Brand X, in 2012.

Brand returned to the UK in 2014. In 2017, he married children’s author Laura Gallacher. The pair have two children and have lived in Henley, Oxfordshire. Brand now also spends significant time over in the US since allegations were reported.

On 16 September, The Times, The Sunday Times and Channel 4’s Dispatches published a documentary and a series of reports on Russell Brand, which detailed allegations made against the comedian of rape, sexual assault, manipulation and emotional abuse.

In response to the allegations, Brand posted a video on his YouTube channel denying all the claims put to him.

“Amidst this litany of astonishing, rather baroque attacks are some very serious allegations that I absolutely refute,” he said. “The relationships I had were absolutely, always consensual.”

In October 2023, a month after the documentary and article about Brand went out, the Met confirmed it had received a "number of allegations of sexual offences" in relation to him.

Thames Valley Police also confirmed it was looking into new information concerning Brand but declined to comment further, saying it "it would be inappropriate to comment on an ongoing investigation".

Scotland Yard later told the The Times (on 19 November 2023) that a man in his forties, thought to be Brand, had attended a police station in south London where he was questioned in relation to three "non-recent" alleged sexual offences under caution.

As of 4 April 2025, the news was made public that Brand has been charged with rape, indecent assault and sexual assault in cases spanning from 1999 – 2005 and involving four unnamed women.

Posting about the charges on X, Brand said in a video he was grateful for them as it means he will be given a chance to defend himself and share his side of the story. "What I never was, was a rapist. I've never engaged in non-consensual activity," he tweeted. "I'm now going to have the opportunity to defend these charges in court and I'm incredibly grateful for that."

Kimberley Bond

Multiplatform Writer

Kimberley Bond is a Multiplatform Writer for Harper’s Bazaar, focusing on the arts, culture, careers and lifestyle. She previously worked as a Features Writer for Cosmopolitan UK, and has bylines at The Telegraph, The Independent and British Vogue among countless others.

Jennifer Savin

Features Editor

 Jennifer Savin is Cosmopolitan UK's multiple award-winning Features Editor, who was crowned Digital Journalist of the Year for her work tackling the issues most important to young women. She regularly covers breaking news, cultural trends, health, the royals and more, using her esteemed connections to access the best experts along the way. She's grilled everyone from high-profile politicians to A-list celebrities, and has sensitively interviewed hundreds of people about their real life stories. In addition to this, Jennifer is widely known for her own undercover investigations and campaign work, which includes successfully petitioning the government for change around topics like abortion rights and image-based sexual abuse. Jennifer is also a published author, documentary consultant (helping to create BBC’s Deepfake Porn: Could You Be Next?) and a patron for Y.E.S. (a youth services charity). Alongside Cosmopolitan, Jennifer has written for The Times, Women’s Health, ELLE and numerous other publications, appeared on podcasts, and spoken on (and hosted) panels for the Women of the World Festival, the University of Manchester and more. In her spare time, Jennifer is a big fan of lipstick, leopard print and over-ordering at dinner. Follow Jennifer on Instagram, X or LinkedIn.