Russell Brand Responds to Charges of Rape and Sexual Assault

Russell Brand is responding to recent charges following allegations that he raped and sexually assaulted multiple women.

Shortly after news broke that he was charged by the Metropolitan Police with rape, sexual assault, and indecent assault, he posted an Instagram Reel denying the charges. “I was a fool before I lived in the light of the Lord,” he said in the video statement. “I was a drug addict, a sex addict and an imbecile, but what I never was was a rapist.”

Brand is due to appear in Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London on May 2, People reported. In his video, he added that he was “incredibly grateful” for the opportunity to defend the charges in court.

Representatives for Brand did not immediately respond to InStyle’s request for comment.

In a Friday news release from the Metropolitan Police, London’s police force specified that the actor had been charged with one count of rape, one count of indecent assault, one count of oral rape, and two counts of sexual assault, with the charges relating to four women. The investigation into Brand’s behavior began in 2023, according to the release.

The alleged incidents occurred between the years of 1999 to 2005, with all of the incidents allegedly having happened in the U.K.

“The women who have made reports continue to receive support from specially trained officers,” said Metropolitan Police Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy, who is leading the investigation. “The Met’s investigation remains open and detectives ask anyone who has been affected by this case, or anyone who has any information, to come forward and speak with police.”

In September 2023, four women—who all remained anonymous, and one who is 16 years old—came forward to accuse Brand in a joint investigation helmed by The Sunday Times, The Times, and the Channel 4 show Dispatches. Those incidents are alleged to have taken place between 2006 and 2013, and Brand denied these allegations in a video posted to social media.

“I’ve received two extremely disturbing letters, or a letter and an email, one from a mainstream media TV company, one from a newspaper, listing a litany of extremely egregious and aggressive attacks,” Brand said. “But amidst this litany of astonishing, rather baroque attacks are some very serious allegations that I absolutely refute.” He added that “the relationships I had were absolutely, always consensual.”

In the news release from the Metropolitan Police issued Friday, it was said that detectives from the force began investigating after “receiving a number of allegations” following reporting by The Sunday Times, The Times, and Dispatches in September 2023.