Russell Brand Pleads Not Guilty to Rape and Sexual Assault Charges in London Court

British comedian and actor Russell Brand pleaded not guilty on Friday at Southwark Crown Court to five criminal charges, including rape, indecent assault, and sexual assault, involving four women between 1999 and 2005. The 49-year-old, once a prominent broadcaster and former husband of U.S. pop star Katy Perry, appeared in court to formally deny all allegations and is scheduled to stand trial in June 2026.

Prosecutors had announced in April that Brand faced two counts of rape, one of indecent assault, and two of sexual assault. Since the allegations first surfaced in 2023 through an investigation by the Sunday Times and Channel 4’s “Dispatches,” Brand has consistently denied any non-consensual behavior. In a video released after the charges, he admitted to being a “sex addict” in his earlier years but firmly stated, “what I never was, was a rapist.”

Brand rose to fame in the 2000s with regular appearances on British television, work with the BBC, and film roles such as in Get Him to the Greek. He married Katy Perry in 2010, but the couple divorced just over a year later. In recent years, Brand has shifted his focus to digital platforms, using his internet channel to share views on politics and free speech. Now a self-declared Christian, he continues to reject all allegations against him.

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