Pallade Veneta - UK comedian Russell Brand charged with rape

Brand, 49, who became known internationally as the husband of pop star Katy Perry after forging a career in Britain with risque comedy routines, was charged with one count of rape, indecent assault and oral rape and two counts of sexual assault, police said.

The charges relate to offences alleged to have taken place between 1999 and 2005 involving four women.

In a video response on X, Brand denied the charges.

"I was a fool before I lived in the light of the Lord. I was a drug addict, a sex addict and an imbecile, but what I never was was a rapist. I've never engaged in non consensual activity," he said in the video.

Jaswant Narwal, of Britain's Crown Prosecution Service, said prosecutors had "authorised the Metropolitan Police to charge Russell Brand with a number of sexual offences".

"We carefully reviewed the evidence after a police investigation into allegations made following the broadcast of a Channel 4 documentary in September 2023," she said.

"We have concluded that Russell Brand should be charged with offences including rape, sexual assault and indecent assault."

Brand, who was married to Perry for 14 months between 2010 and 2012, said he was now "grateful" for the "opportunity" to defend himself against the charges.

He is due to appear in the Westminster Magistrate's Court on May 2.

Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy from the Metropolitan Police said the investigation remained open.

He urged "anyone who has been affected by this case, or anyone who has any information, to come forward and speak with police".

Brand is charged with the rape of a woman in 1999 in the Bournemouth area on England's south coast, and the oral rape and sexual assault of a woman in 2004 in the Westminster area of London.

He has also been charged with indecently assaulting a woman in 2001 and sexually assaulting another woman between 2004 and 2005 -- both alleged to have taken place in Westminster.

- Conspiracy theorist -

The Press Association news agency said Brand, who is thought to be living in the United States, was charged by post.

Born in 1975 to working-class parents in Essex, east of London, Brand began his stand-up career as a teenager.

He burst onto the scene as a provocative, often lewd comedian before transforming into a Hollywood star, then an anti-establishment guru and conspiracy theorist who has millions of fans online.

He has almost seven million subscribers on YouTube, 11.3 million on X and 4.8 million on Instagram.

He presented a show on the BBC's Radio 2 station between 2006 and 2008 but left after an on-air prank when he left a sexually explicit voicemail for "Fawlty Towers" actor Andrew Sachs about his granddaughter.

He also presented a "Big Brother" spin-off show for several years, and wrote columns for the left-wing Guardian newspaper and penned two autobiographies.

He is now married to the author and illustrator Laura Gallacher, with whom they have three children.

H.Lagomarsino--PV