LONDON (AP) — Russell Brand got out of a sleek black Mercedes on Friday and took his first steps toward a court where he faces charges of rape and sexual assault in a scene far removed from a walk down a Hollywood red carpet.
The actor-comedian, wearing a black collared shirt open to his midsection and sporting a gold cross, was quickly mobbed by cameras. He stood bolt upright and paced slowly forward through a crush of media and onlookers, protected by a ring of bodyguards and uniformed police officers.
The comedian, author and “Get Him To The Greek” actor gave a thumbs-up motion as he entered Westminster Magistrates’ Court in central London. His wavy locks flowed to his shoulders, his beard was peppered with gray and he wore a pair of gold-framed sunglasses, black jeans and brown boots.
Inside a packed courtroom, Brand stood in the dock and confirmed his name, birth date and address during the brief hearing and was granted conditional bail after a prosecutor read a summary of complaints made by four women that date back a quarter century.
Brand, 49, was charged last month with two counts of rape, two counts of sexual assault and one count of indecent assault. He didn’t enter a plea, and has previously denied the allegations made against him.
The alleged offenses took place between 1999 and 2005 — one in the English seaside town of Bournemouth and the other three in London. The Associated Press doesn’t name victims of alleged sexual violence, and the British law grants them lifelong anonymity in the media.
Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring ordered Brand to show up at the Central Criminal Court, known as the Old Bailey, on May 30 and granted him bail on the condition that he keeps the court informed of where he is staying, either in the U.K. or in the U.S.
He currently lives in Florida, but is obliged to attend all future court appearances. If he doesn’t abide by the conditions, he faces being jailed.
Prosecutor Suki Dhadda said that Brand raped a woman in 1999 at a hotel room in Bournemouth when she attended a Labour Party conference in the town and met him at an event where he was performing. It’s alleged that while the woman went to the bathroom, Brand removed some of his clothing and later pushed her on the bed, removed her underwear and raped her.
A second woman accused Brand of grabbing her by the forearm and attempting to drag her into a male toilet at a television station in London in 2001.
A third accuser was a television worker who met Brand at a friend’s birthday party at a bar in Soho in 2004. He is accused of grabbing her breasts before allegedly pulling her into a toilet and forcing her to perform oral sex.
The final complainant worked at a radio station and met Brand while he was working on a spin-off of the “Big Brother” reality television program between 2004 and 2005. Brand is alleged to have grabbed her by the face with both hands, pushed her against a wall and kissed her before grabbing her breasts and buttocks.
The charges follow a September 2023 joint investigation by British media outlets Channel 4 and the Sunday Times.
Brand denied the allegations when they first surfaced . On the day that he was charged last month, he posted a video saying he welcomed the opportunity to prove his innocence.
“I was a fool before I lived in the light of the lord,” he said. “I was a drug addict, a 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.”
Known for his unbridled and risqué stand-up routines, Brand hosted shows on radio and television and wrote memoirs charting his battles with drugs and alcohol. He has appeared in several Hollywood movies and was briefly married to pop star Katy Perry between 2010 and 2012.
In recent years, Brand has largely disappeared from mainstream media, but has built up a large following online with videos mixing wellness and conspiracy theories. He recently said that he had moved to the United States.
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Jill Lawless contributed to this report.