LONDON — Russell Brand behaved as a “ruthless” sexual predator when he assaulted six women over a decade, a prosecutor said Wednesday, as she opened the rape and sexual assault case against the actor-comedian.
They individually went to police after a 2023 television program broadcast anonymous claims against Brand, she said. Karmy-Jones told the jury that none of the alleged victims reported the alleged assaults at the time, due to guilt, shame and concern that they would be blamed. “He was ruthless, he was calculating, he was manipulative. “There can be little doubt as to what Mr. Known for risque stand-up routines and battles with drugs and alcohol, Brand rose to prominence in the early 2000s, hosting television programs and his own BBC radio show.
She said Brand at the time had an “indiscriminate and voracious” desire for sexual contact, and “women were simply a means to an end. The prosecutor said Brand could be funny and charming, “a flirt with a huge sexual appetite — childlike in his expectation that his every desire should be met. And, the prosecution say, he was a sexual predator,” Karmy-Jones said. Brand’s intention was,” Karmy-Jones said. The prosecutor said the other complainants include a woman who says Brand kissed and groped her at a London radio station in 2004 or 2005, leaving her feeling “dirty and disgusting”; and a then-21-year-old fan who says Brand anally raped her at his home after she met him at one of his shows in 2009. He appeared in Hollywood films including “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and “Get Him to the Greek” and was briefly married to pop star Katy Perry.
