British comedian Russell Brand denies sexual assault allegations in the media

LONDON (Reuters) – British comedian and actor Russell Brand has denied any criminal offenses when the Sunday Times newspaper reported that four women had accused him of sexual assaults, including rape, over a seven-year period when he was in the height of his career. his fame.

Brand, 48, ex-husband of American singer Katy Perry, denied unspecified “very serious criminal allegations” hours before they were published online by the newspaper on Saturday.

The Sunday Times did not say whether any of the women had made complaints to the police. Reuters was unable to reach Brand representatives for further responses after the newspaper’s report was published.

The Times, which reported that the alleged incidents had taken place between 2006 and 2013, said one woman had reported rape, while another said Brand assaulted her when she was 16 and still in school. Two of the accusers reported that the incidents occurred in Los Angeles, the newspaper said.

Channel 4 TV’s documentary program “Dispatches”, which was due to broadcast more details of the allegations later on Saturday, also aired a series of clips of the women on X, formerly known as Twitter, describing the alleged incidents.

In a video message posted on social media, Brand said the allegations contained “a litany of extremely egregious and aggressive attacks, as well as some pretty stupid things.”

“But in the midst of this litany of surprising and quite baroque attacks, there are some very serious accusations that I absolutely reject,” he said.

“These accusations relate to the time when I was working in the mainstream, when I was in the newspapers all the time, when I was in the movies. And as I’ve written at length in my books, I was very, very promiscuous,” he said. Brand.

“Now, during that time of promiscuity, the relationships I had were absolutely always consensual.”

The Sunday Times said its report was the result of a joint investigation with “Dispatches” that began in 2019.

Brand was once one of Britain’s most prominent comedians, known for his flamboyant style and appearance, a regular on television and radio, including work for the BBC, during the 2000s, while also starring in several films such as ” Get Him to the Greek”.

She married Perry in a lavish wedding in India in 2010, but filed for divorce just 14 months later. She now focuses mainly on online projects and has a large following on her regular podcasts and shows on social media.

“I don’t mind you using my books and monologues to talk about my past promiscuous and consensual behavior,” she said in her video message. “What I seriously refute are these very, very serious criminal allegations.”

Our standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.