Russell Brand has been granted bail after a London video court appearance over two additional charges of sexual assault and rape.
The disgraced comedian, actor and TV host appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday via a video link from the U.S.
The charges, which were first brought by London’s Metropolitan Police in December, relate to incidents involving two women that are alleged to have taken place in 2009. According to reports, Brand, appearing on video wearing a denim shirt with a number of buttons undone, spoke only to confirm his name and date of birth in the six-minute hearing. He was bailed to appear at Southwark Crown Court on Feb. 17.
Early last year, the “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” star was charged with an initial five allegations, including two counts of rape, two counts of sexual assault and one count of indecent assault. At London’s Southwark Crown Court in May 2025, he pleaded not guilty to all five charges — relating to four separate women in incidents that occurred between 1999 and 2005 — with the judge setting a trial date of June 3, 2026.
The Met’s investigation into Brand first launched after the police received several allegations in the wake of a major exposé in 2023 from both Channel 4’s “Dispatches” documentary series and The Sunday Times.
The exposé saw Brand accused of “rape, sexual assaults and emotional abuse.” A rep for the show said that “five women, four of whom asked to remain anonymous, agreed to share their stories of serious sexual allegations in the program.”
When the additional charges were made in December, bringing the total to seven, chief inspector Tariq Farooqi confirmed that the Met investigation remained “ongoing,” and urged anyone affected by the case or with further information to come forward.
Love Film & TV?
Get your daily dose of everything happening in music, film and TV in Australia and abroad.
Brand has previously denied the allegations against him and stressed all his relationships were consensual.
From Variety US