LONDON: British comedian and television star Russell Brand, who became a household name in the 2000s as a sex-obsessed provocateur, arrived at court on Monday to learn how long he will spend in jail after being convicted of rape and sexual assaults.
Brand’s conviction last week marked his latest fall in a scandal-hit showbiz career that saw him embody the anything-goes culture of 2000s British television and radio.
Entering the dock at London’s Southwark Crown Court, Brand — dressed in a dark suit and white shirt, with his hair in a top knot — looked around briefly.
He confirmed his identity when asked by a court official.
Brand was unanimously convicted by a jury on Thursday of one count of rape and three sexual assaults against four women, committed between 2004 and 2009.
Denying him bail after the guilty verdicts, the judge warned Brand, 51, that he faced a “significant custodial term”. The maximum sentence for rape in the UK is life imprisonment.
The court heard victim impact statements before the judge passed sentence.
In the dock, Brand, who has reinvented himself as an online Christian guru, made the sign of the cross before one of his victims personally read out her statement from behind a screen.
Brand was cleared of two other alleged rapes and one count of attempted indecent assault. But he is facing further investigations after London police said they were probing rape allegations by two more women.
From Channel 4 to MTV and an eponymous primetime show on BBC Radio 2, the wild-haired comedian worked for major British media organisations in the 2000s, where his obsession with sex contributed to his notoriety.
His behaviour featured in the high-profile trial, with Brand admitting he had been “extremely promiscuous” and had used his fame to “facilitate sexual access”, although he denied the charges.
Hypersexualised person
His wife, Laura Gallacher, who accompanied him almost every day of his trial and with whom he has three children, watched from the public gallery as the hearing began.
She made no comment as she arrived at court wearing dark glasses and leaning heavily on a female companion.
Calling him a “wonderful father to our children”, Gallacher told the trial that when they first dated in 2006: “It was clear it was difficult for him to be monogamous.”
Brand’s hypersexualised persona was a running tabloid joke, with the comedian named “shagger of the year” three years in a row by The Sun newspaper from 2006 to 2009.
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Born to working-class parents in Essex, east of London, in 1975, Brand dropped out of drama school before joining MTV at the age of 25.
He was fired for turning up to work dressed as Osama bin Laden following the September 11, 2001, attacks and for inviting his drug dealer into the studios.
He had his own radio show at the BBC, which last week apologised for the “culture and failings” when Brand worked for the broadcaster between 2006 and 2008.
‘Wake up call’
Brand left the BBC after sending a well-known actor sexually explicit messages about having slept with his granddaughter.
He made a foray into Hollywood after a brief marriage in 2010 to US pop star Katy Perry, followed by a stint as a left-wing commentator and campaigner.
In television and stage appearances, Brand joked about his predatory behaviour and made crude comments about younger women and staff.
A 2023 investigation by Channel 4, The Sunday Times and The Times aired accusations of rape and sexual assault, prompting a police investigation.
The court found him guilty of sexually assaulting an MTV worker, a Channel 4 worker and a Capital Radio employee, as well as raping a 21-year-old fan.
The organisations that supported Brand for years despite complaints are now facing questions about how he was able to continue for so long.
British Culture Minister Lisa Nandy on Sunday said men in positions of power were still exploiting women in the media industry, describing the case as a “wake-up call”.
In recent years, Brand has reinvented himself as a faith-based, conservative commentator with millions of social media followers, often appearing in court and police interviews carrying a Bible.
As a prison van believed to be carrying Brand arrived at the court, a supporter carrying a large banner covered in Christian crosses shouted: “Russell is the truth, that’s why he’s getting crucified, because he’s outing the media.”