Russell Brand faces fresh allegations of sexual misconduct from six more women, with claims spanning a decade from 2005 to 2015. The women shared their accounts in a new investigation by The Times and The Sunday Times, whose earlier reporting on the comedian features in Netflix’s newly unveiled documentary Russell Brand: Open Secret.
According to Deadline, the allegations emerged days after Brand received a 10-and-a-half-year prison sentence for rape and sexual assault. The newspapers said they could not publish the accounts while his criminal trial was under way because doing so risked prejudicing the proceedings.
The Times said it took “extensive steps” to corroborate the women’s accounts. None of the six received payment for speaking to the newspapers.
The earliest allegation dates to 2005. A woman in her mid-20s said Brand approached her and told her: “Please I just need to have sex with you, I will pay you.”
In 2006, a woman in her late 20s appeared as a guest on Brand’s show after winning a BBC 6 Music competition. They saw each other on and off over the following year. She alleged that, during one encounter at his home, Brand demanded that she lick a toilet seat. When she refused, he appeared angry, she said.
“[He] seemed pissed off that I wouldn’t let him humiliate me,” she recalled.
Another woman, who was 19 in 2007, said she met Brand after queuing with a friend to see him. She alleged that, during sex, she told him it was painful and asked him to stop, but he continued. Afterwards, she said, Brand insisted that their encounter had been consensual.
A fourth woman described an on-and-off relationship with Brand in the late 2000s. She said it began with a work meeting at his London home. During one encounter, she realised he was not wearing a condom. She asked him to stop and tried to pull away, but could not. She eventually decided not to fight him, she said. Brand later apologised to her in person and by text message.
In 2013, a fan in her late 20s met Brand after one of his performances at The Chapel in San Francisco. She alleged that he handled her roughly and pushed his hand down her trousers.
The most recent account dates to 2015. A woman who worked at a London venue where Brand was a regular said one of his staff told her that the comedian wanted to see her and was waiting in the disabled toilets. She said she entered the room and found the lights switched off. Brand claimed he needed toilet paper, but grabbed her as she handed it to him, she alleged.
The Metropolitan Police said several people had contacted officers during and since Brand’s trial. Some offered further information, while others reported potential crimes. Detectives are assessing the information, the force said. After the verdict, police confirmed they were investigating rape allegations involving two other women. Met chief Mark Rowley said he “wouldn’t be surprised” if more victims came forward.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has urged the media industry to “look at itself” and “step forward” to protect women and girls. His comments followed Brand’s conviction and separate allegations against comedian David Walliams, which emerged from a joint investigation by The Guardian and ITV News. Walliams has rejected the claims.
Brand, 51, received his prison sentence on Monday after a jury at Southwark Crown Court in London found him guilty of raping a fan who was 21 at the time and three counts of sexual assault. The jury cleared him of two further rape counts and one charge of attempted indecent assault. The offences took place between 2004 and 2009.
The first allegations against Brand emerged in 2023 through a documentary series produced by The Sunday Times with Channel 4’s Dispatches. Until then, audiences chiefly knew him for his comedy and film roles in Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Get Him to the Greek.
