Russell Brand’s rape and sexual assault trial is in its second week at Southwark Crown Court in London.
As a reminder, the ex-presenter, actor and comedian is accused of three counts of rape, three charges of sexual assault and one allegation of indecent assault, with six women alleging crimes dating from 1999 to 2009. He denies all the allegations, which were presented in depth by lead prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones last week.
The first complainant gave evidence on Thursday, telling the court of her encounter with Brand in 1999 in a Bournemouth hotel room: “He raped me, he pushed me onto the bed. … He ripped off my clothes.” She said the experience left her “dirty” and afraid she might be pregnant. Brand maintains the interaction was consensual.
On Monday, the police interview of another complainant was broadcast as Brand and his wife, Laura Gallacher, sat in the public gallery. The accuser detailed meeting Brand in a bar in Soho, London, in 2004. He went on to star in films like Saint-Trinien And Forgetting Sarah Marshall but he was best known at that time for having presented Big brotherThe spin-off show.
According to Sky News, the complainant said Brand grabbed her chest after she spoke “for up to a minute”. She said Brand grabbed her arm and dragged her to the bathroom, near where they were. Here the court was able to see a plan of the bar.
She said Brand was standing on the toilet seat. “It happened so quickly,” the complainant said during the police interview. “He pulled me up and put his penis in my mouth.”
The woman said she tried to resist, but Brand said, “Don’t be a spoilsport,” or something to that effect. She became emotional as she spoke, according to Sky, imagining the others asking her, “‘Why didn’t you bite him?’ I just froze. I didn’t know what to do. She alleged that Brand then “ejaculated in my mouth.”
The accuser recalls knocking on the locked bathroom door to escape and claims a man outside could have shouted to ask if everything was okay. Brand acted like “nothing happened” and told her, “I guess we should exchange numbers now,” according to the woman. She says she was driven into a car with Brand, still “in disbelief and shock”. While in the car, she realized Brand had his penis removed, the plaintiff alleged. She alleges he said, “Come and suck it.” » She says she told him no and that Brand “took no for an answer.”
Regarding what was going through her mind at the time of the alleged oral rape, the accuser reportedly said: “If I do this, maybe he won’t try to rape me more.” …It won’t try to invade my body. …I felt it was the lesser of two evils. She described it as a “case of survival” and remembers thinking, “Just do what he wants and get out of here, and then it’s done.” …I closed my eyes and tried not to be there.
She did not come forward to the police because, according to the woman, she “was ashamed that someone could do this to me.” It was not until 2023, after seeing articles in the press surrounding other allegations against Brand, that she decided to come forward. Sky News added that the police interview showed the officer probing the woman to find out what she was wearing during the attack. She told them: “There wouldn’t have been any boobs hanging out. I don’t dress like that.”
The plaintiff says she was “absolutely appalled” when her employer, MTV, subsequently hired her as a presenter. “Whenever he was in the building, I just refused to go there or attend parties. If I knew where he was, I would just avoid it,” she said. “I’ve seen him in the distance several times. He probably wouldn’t even recognize me. I’m just a face.”
The woman was then cross-examined by Brand’s defense lawyer, Ian Winter, who asked her on Monday: “Can you explain why you didn’t tell any human being until you called the police in September 2023?” She maintains that she told people that Brand grabbed her breasts while she was standing at the bar. Winter replied, “I suggest you didn’t tell anyone.” The woman responds: “I don’t agree with your summary. »
Sky says the defense then asked, “Why didn’t you slap him?” She said: “I was completely shocked that someone I was talking to for about 30 seconds would do that to me. Winter suggested it would have been “perfectly easy” for her to “struggle” or “initiate” the interaction. She disagreed, telling the courtroom that the bar had gotten a little “empty.” “I was dragged (into the toilet) against my will,” she added.
Brand has pleaded not guilty to all charges. The trial could last up to six weeks.
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