Pallade Veneta - UK comedian Russell Brand in court on two new rape charges

UK comedian Russell Brand in court on two new rape charges


UK comedian Russell Brand in court on two new rape charges
UK comedian Russell Brand in court on two new rape charges / Photo: Olivier Touron - AFP

Actor and comedian Russell Brand appeared before a UK court Tuesday facing two new charges of rape and sexual assault.

Change text size:

The two new charges against Brand, 50, were brought in December 2025 and relate to two alleged incidents with separate women in London in 2009.

In May last year, he had already pleaded not guilty to two counts of rape, two counts of sexual assault and one count of indecent assault for alleged incidents involving four different women between 1999 and 2005.

Appearing remotely via video-link wearing a partially buttoned pale blue shirt, Brand, the ex-husband of popstar Katy Perry, only spoke to confirm his name and his date of birth.

He was granted conditional bail and is due to appear again in Southwark Crown Court in south London on February 17 for a pre-trial hearing.

He was originally charged following an investigation conducted by the Sunday Times newspaper and Channel 4 television in 2023, which included several allegations of a sexual nature against him.

A trial is set to begin at Southwark Crown Court in June on the five original charges.

Brand is a former stand-up comedian who gained Hollywood fame in the early 2010s. He married singer Perry in 2010, although the two divorced in 2012.

Once a left-leaning political campaigner and Hollywood star, he has rebranded himself as a conservative guru to his millions of social media followers.

In 2024, he said he became a Christian after being baptised in the River Thames.

O.Mucciarone--PV

Featured

Jersey Boys Anniversary Tour Opens in Birmingham With Gritty Account of Crime and Fame

The 20th-anniversary tour of Jersey Boys has opened at Birmingham’s Alexandra Theatre, offering a gritty and unvarnished look at the Four Seasons’ journey. The production details the band's turbulent rise from New Jersey petty criminals to international rock stars, highlighting the complex personal costs behind their musical success.

UBC professor describes police call after Galloway remark as act of care

VANCOUVER — A University of British Columbia professor has testified about a colleague’s decision to call police to visit Steven Galloway after he was accused of sexual assault, describing it as an “act of care” toward the author, who had spoken of killing himself. Galloway, who is suing his accuser and others in a defamation trial centred on the unproven allegations, has described his subsequent committal to a hospital in the United States as “terrifying.

The Cat in the Hat expands its stakes to cosmic scale in animated reboot

The folks behind the new animated “The Cat in the Hat” are pretty confident they’ve got the cat in the bag. It hasn’t even opened yet and there are onscreen references to possible movie spinoffs for the jet-powered magical couch and The Things.

Lettermen co-founder Tony Butala dies at 87

NEW YORK (AP) — Tony Butala, co-founder of the Grammy-nominated trio The Lettermen, whose lush vocal harmonies made them one of the most popular vocal groups of the 1960s, died Sunday. He was 87.

Change text size: