Russell Brand walked into Southwark Crown Court in London on Thursday as a free man. But by the end of the day, he was in a holding cell. A jury convicted the 51-year-old comedian and actor on one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault, and the judge wasn’t interested in letting him go home first.
The verdict landed after a trial that began October 12 and put six women’s accounts in front of the jury, with allegations stretching from 1999 to 2009. Brand was cleared of two other rape charges and one attempted indecent assault charge, so this was a split decision. The jury of eight men and four women deliberated for more than eight hours before reaching it. The four counts Brand was convicted on involve four women.
Judge Joel Bennathan told Brand that “obviously a custodial sentence of some length will result,” and he didn’t trust that Brand would come back to court to hear it. After a short break so both sides could argue the point, he denied the bail application and remanded Brand into custody until Monday, when he returns for sentencing. Brand reportedly showed little emotion as the verdicts were read. On his way out, he gave his legal team a thumbs up and an OK hand signal. His wife, Laura Gallacher, rushed out of the courtroom as he was taken down to the cells.
For the women who testified, the courtroom was heavy. One of them, who said Brand raped her after the 1999 Labour Party conference, broke down and asked the jury, “Had I come forward, would it have stopped?” That question hung over the whole trial, because for years it was Brand’s celebrity, his charm and his sheer audacity that kept a lot of people laughing instead of listening.
The authorities did not hold back in their statements afterward. The Crown Prosecution Service said Brand was predatory and used his celebrity status to commit sexual crimes. Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy of the Metropolitan Police said the verdict sends a message that “no one is above the law,” no matter how famous or rich they are. Sky News also reported that the Met has confirmed Brand is under investigation over further rape allegations.
Brand took the stand himself and never wavered in public. “Not guilty is my plea in every single case,” he said during testimony. He admitted he’d been obsessed with sex as a younger man but insisted he never committed these crimes. Prosecutors painted a different picture of how he treated women during his rise to fame. Prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones told jurors, “Women were disposable,” and argued they never mattered to him.
This is a story we’ve seen before, and many of us have watched powerful men get a long leash because they were entertaining or famous enough to be protected. Brand had plenty of cover, from the Hollywood roles to the radio shows to the post-fame pivot into wellness and online commentary. None of it kept him out of a British courtroom, and none of it kept him out of a cell on Thursday night.
Sentencing is set for Monday, and the judge has already signaled it won’t be light. Judge Bennathan said the rape verdict means “inevitably a significant custodial sentence.” Whatever number he lands on, it will land with a lot of women watching closely, many of whom have learned that being believed can take a very long time.