A London jury on Thursday, November 5, 2026, found Russell Brand guilty of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault involving four women. The British comedian and actor, 51, was cleared of three other charges and taken into custody at Southwark Crown Court ahead of sentencing on Monday.
What We Know
Brand stood trial on seven counts concerning six women, covering incidents alleged to have taken place between 1999 and 2009. He pleaded not guilty to every charge. After a trial that opened on October 12 and lasted around three weeks, a jury of eight men and four women deliberated for roughly eight and a half hours over two days before returning its verdicts.
The jury convicted him of:
- raping a woman at his home in 2009 after she met him backstage at one of his comedy shows;
- sexually assaulting a woman at a birthday party in a London bar in 2004;
- sexually assaulting a woman at a London radio station in 2004 or 2005;
- sexually assaulting a woman during the recording of an advertisement in 2009.
He was found not guilty of two further rape counts, one relating to a hotel room in Bournemouth in 1999 and another at the same 2004 bar party, and of one count of attempted indecent assault. Under British law, the women who brought the complaints keep their anonymity for life.
Brand had been on bail throughout the proceedings. Judge Joel Bennathan refused to extend it, telling him that the rape conviction meant a significant prison term was inevitable, and he was remanded in custody. According to the Associated Press, Brand repeatedly said “I’m good, I’m good, I’m good” as he was led away.
Background
Brand rose to fame in Britain in the 2000s as a stand-up comedian and radio and TV presenter before moving into Hollywood films. He played rock star Aldous Snow in Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008), alongside Mila Kunis, reprised the role in Get Him to the Greek (2010), and starred opposite Jennifer Garner and Helen Mirren in the 2011 remake of Arthur.
The criminal case followed a 2023 joint investigation by The Sunday Times, The Times and Channel 4’s Dispatches, in which several women accused him of sexual abuse. Brand denied the claims at the time. London’s Metropolitan Police then opened an inquiry, and in April 2025 he was charged with rape, indecent assault and sexual assault. Prosecutors later added further counts involving two more women, bringing the total to seven.
In court, Brand testified that he had been obsessed with sex as a younger man and had a promiscuous past, and he acknowledged using his fame to have sex, which he said was wrong. He insisted he never forced anyone. His defence argued that the women had gone to police years after the alleged incidents and only after the allegations were aired on television.
Reactions
Prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones had described Brand to jurors as a “sexual predator” for whom women were a “disposable commodity,” according to AP. After the verdicts, Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy of the Metropolitan Police said Brand “used his influence, status and fame to exploit and sexually offend against women.”
Channel 4, where one of the offences took place while Brand was working on a project, said in a statement reported by HELLO! that its “thoughts are first and foremost with the six women involved in the case.”
What’s Next
Brand is due to be sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on Monday. The AP also reported that police have passed their investigation into two further rape allegations to prosecutors; no charging decision on those allegations has been announced.