Russell Brand took the stand in his criminal trial in London on Wednesday, denying all accusations against him and revealing that he was not able to convince anyone to testify on his behalf.
He was called by his lawyer, Ian Winter KC, as the first witness as his defence began to lay out its case, according to Sky News. Winter began by asking Brand if he had committed each of the alleged offences he is being accused of, to which he repeatedly replied: “No.” Questioned about his prominence in the mid-2000s, Brand said that his marriage to Katy Perry in 2010 brought about “staggering fame.”
Brand then revealed that not a single person with relevant information agreed to testify on his behalf in the trial. “My entire life has been consumed by these allegations,” he told the Southwark Crown Court. “I have devoted myself to these matters.”
He called the Channel 4 documentary about him “devastating” and claimed that he was not able to visit his sick son in the hospital because he had been publicly accused of rape. “The reason given by Great Ormond Street Hospital when my son was receiving open heart surgery and subsequent treatment was due to the material published,” he said, according to Sky News.
On Tuesday, judge Mr Justice Bennathan reduced one of Brand’s seven charges from indecent assault to attempted indecent assault, telling jurors that there was “insufficient evidence” regarding an alleged 2001 incident involving a MTV employee. He has also been charged with three counts of rape and three counts of sexual assault, and has pleaded not guilty to all charges. The case involves six female plaintiffs, all of whom are given automatic lifelong anonymity according to U.K. law, and relates to alleged offences that occurred between 1999 and 2009.
Outside the courthouse on Wednesday, Brand told journalists (via Sky News): “Due to the circumstances of today, I think it would be inappropriate for me to say anything other than I am very grateful that today’s a day for truth and justice and we are blessed that as yet we have a system that can accommodate such things.” He was accompanied by his wife, Laura Gallacher.
Love Film & TV?
Get your daily dose of everything happening in music, film and TV in Australia and abroad.
On the stand, Brand was then questioned about the first allegation, concerning a woman who alleged he raped her at the 1999 Labour party conference. After meeting at his cabaret show, Brand said the woman “suggested we go to her hotel room” and he thought there may be a “possibility of sex.” In the room he said there was “messing about, some kissing on the body and sex with a condom.” Asked about her claim that he forced her to take the photos, Brand responded: “I don’t know how you can make someone take photographs.”
Moving on to the second accusation, involving a woman who claims Brand grabbed her and tried to pull her into a toilet while she was working at MTV in 2001, Brand said he has no recollection of the alleged incident. Regarding the third complainant, who alleges Brand squeezed her breasts at a party in Soho in 2004 and then orally raped her in a toilet, he said he was introduced to her by the host of the party as a “bird” who “really wants to meet you.” He said he “absolutely” did not grab her breasts and said the toilet she claimed he orally raped her in “was unsuitable for me to meet the goal… of getting it off.” He also denied the fourth woman’s allegation, who claimed he allegedly pushed her against a wall and “aggressively” kissed her while she was working at Capital Radio in 2004/2005.
Regarding the fifth accuser, who alleged that Brand anally raped her in 2009 after they had consensual vaginal sex, he claimed that she did not say “no” or tell him to stop. He also said he believed that taking off his condom before the alleged anal rape was a “consensual act.”
“I’m innocent,” Brand said as the defence’s questioning ended.
The prosecution has set out its case over the past two weeks. In an opening statement, Riel Karmy-Jones KC called Brand a “predator,” adding that he was “ruthless and calculated” with an “indiscriminate and voracious” desire for sexual contact.
The trial will continue on Thursday.
From Variety US