Russell Brand denies allegations after U.K charges him with rape and sexual assault

British comedian Russell Brand has been charged with rape and battle by authorities successful the U.K.

The 49-year-old actor, known for his enactment successful R-rated comedies including “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and “Get Him to the Greek,” was charged with azygous counts of rape, indecent assault, oral rape and 2 counts of intersexual assault, the Metropolitan Police Service announced successful a statement.

The charges are connected to alleged attacks connected aggregate women betwixt 1999 and 2005. He is scheduled to look charges earlier the Westminster Magistrates’ Court connected May 2.

Brand posted a video Friday denying the allegations.

“I’ve ever told you guys that erstwhile I was young, and single, earlier I had my woman and household ... I was a fool, man,” helium said.
“I was a fool earlier I lived successful the airy of the Lord. I was a cause addict, a enactment addict and an imbecile. But what I ne'er was was a rapist. I’ve ne'er engaged successful nonconsensual activities. I commune you tin archer that by looking successful my eyes.”

He said helium was “incredibly grateful” to person the accidental to support against the charges successful tribunal and noted that the instrumentality had go “kind of a weapon” to usage against those who won’t tolerate the level of corruption helium believes exists successful the U.K. government.

Brand relocated his household past twelvemonth from the U.K. to Santa Rosa Beach, Fla., soon earlier the 2024 U.S. statesmanlike election, the Sun reported successful February.

Brand has pivoted distant from acting successful caller years and worked to refashion himself arsenic an anti-establishment commentator, and made quality a twelvemonth agone announcing helium had been baptized.

The baptism came months aft galore women alleged they were sexually assaulted by him betwixt 2006 and 2013. The accusations archetypal surfaced successful a associated probe published successful September 2023 by the Times of London and U.K. Channel 4’s “Dispatches” quality program.

Brand denied the allegations a time earlier their publication, saying successful a YouTube video, “The relationships I had were absolutely, ever consensual.”

He added: “I was ever transparent astir that then. Almost excessively transparent, and I’m being transparent now. To spot that transparency metastasized into thing transgression that I perfectly contradict makes maine question: Is determination different docket astatine play?”

In November 2023, the BBC reported it had received five workplace complaints astir the actor, who was a BBC Radio big from 2006 to 2008. Additionally, a pistillate who worked arsenic an other successful the 2011 “Arthur” movie reboot sued Brand successful Suffolk County, N.Y., nether the state’s Adult Survivors Act, which expanded the statute of limitations model connected immoderate intersexual battle cases. She alleges helium assaulted her successful a bath during filming successful 2010.

A period later, Brand was interviewed “under caution by detectives successful narration to a further six, non-recent, intersexual offenses,” the Associated Press reported.

Times adjunct exertion Christie D’Zurilla and former staff writer Meredith Blake contributed to this report.