Russell Brand Appears in Court on Rape Charges as Trial Moves to Central Criminal Court
Russell Brand's dark past collided with his present once again on Friday as he appeared in Westminster Magistrates' Court in London. The actor-comedian was accompanied by Oliver Schneider-Sikorsky, who successfully defended actor Kevin Spacey in 2023 in a case involving sexual assault charges, and by a man who remained nameless but was reportedly present for Brand's baptism in the Thames last year, according to Christian Post.
The court charged Brand with rape and multiple counts of sexual assault, which he denies. He's been granted bail and is not being held in prison. He's been privileged to stay in his U.K. or U.S. residence as long as he informs the court of his location. He's also been ordered to appear at the Central Criminal Court, known as the Old Bailey, on May 30th, according to PBS.
Brand detailed his denial on his Instagram, saying, "These allegations pertain 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 about extensively in my books, I was very, very promiscuous. Now, during that time of promiscuity, the relationships I had were absolutely, always consensual.
"I was always transparent about that, then — almost too transparent. And I'm being transparent about it now as well. And to see that transparency metastasized into something criminal that I absolutely deny."
Brand confided in another post, "I was a fool before I lived in the light of the Lord; I was a drug addict, sex addict, and an imbecile, but what I never was was a rapist. I've never engaged in nonconsensual activity, I pray that you can see that by looking in my eyes."
Brand has also claimed that the United Kingdom's legal system has "become a kind of weapon to be used against people, institutions, and sometimes entire nations."
Brand's dark past began catching up with him in 2023 when five women went public with their alleged experiences. The Metropolitan Police then began investigating Brand, and he was charged last month. Accusations go all the way back to 1999, according to People.
Related Article: Russell Brand Denies All Allegations after Facing Five Charges of Sexual Assault
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Benjamin Cremel
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Originally published May 06, 2025.
