British police announced on Friday that actor-comedian Russell Brand has been charged with rape and multiple counts of assault involving four separate women between 1999 and 2005.
The charges include one count of rape, one count of indecent assault, one count of oral rape, and two counts of sexual assault.
Brand, who was once one of the UK’s most prominent broadcasters and is the former husband of U.S. pop singer Katy Perry, denied the allegations when they first surfaced in 2023.
At the time, he firmly stated that he had never engaged in non-consensual sex.
In response to the charges, Brand took to X (formerly Twitter) and said that while he acknowledged his past mistakes, “what I never was, was a rapist. I have never engaged in non-consensual activity.” He also criticized the use of the law as “a kind of weapon.”
The charges stem from an investigation initiated by London’s Metropolitan Police, which started following allegations published in a September 2023 report the Channel 4’s Dispatches documentary.
The allegations involve incidents between 2006 and 2013, with four women accusing Brand of sexual assault, including one instance of rape.
Shortly after, the police launched an investigation into the alleged crimes, which remains ongoing.
Brand, who resides in Oxfordshire, is scheduled for a first court hearing on May 2.
In the early 2000s, Brand was a prominent figure in British entertainment, known for his flamboyant style and appearance.
He worked with the BBC and appeared in various films, including Get Him to the Greek. He married Perry in 2010, but the couple divorced after 14 months.
By the early 2020s, Brand had stepped away from mainstream media and focused on his online channel, where he shared his views on U.S. politics and free speech. However, the allegations brought him back into the headlines in 2023.
In response to the charges, Brand maintained that his past relationships were always consensual, despite his acknowledged promiscuity during that period.
The police investigation is still ongoing, and detectives have urged anyone affected by this case or with additional information to come forward.
