The Russell Brand trial has heard from a woman who alleges that a consensual sexual encounter in 2009 became rape when Brand penetrated her anally despite repeated demands that he stop. Brand denies all seven charges against him and has told police he has never engaged in nonconsensual sexual activity.

The anonymous complainant’s recorded police interview was played at London’s Southwark Crown Court on Tuesday, October 20, according to Reuters. She is one of six women connected to the charges against the 51-year-old comedian and actor.

What the complainant told police

The woman said she agreed to vaginal sex after Brand asked her to shower. She alleged that he then turned her over and penetrated her anally without consent, continuing as she repeatedly told him to stop.

She said the alleged assault was brief but caused bleeding that continued for several days. According to Reuters, she also alleged that Brand told her to clean up afterward while he watched television and took a phone call.

The complainant later told her mother and her then-boyfriend what had happened. She also sought sexual-health testing because she feared she might have contracted HIV.

The experience had “lived with me ever since,” she said in the police interview. She described blaming herself for years before deciding to approach police because she no longer wanted to carry the experience alone.

The later text exchange

The woman said she encountered Brand again about a year later at the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland. He subsequently sent her a message saying he wanted to “push [her] further.”

She replied that he had already pushed her too far and had treated her “like an animal.” According to her account, Brand apologised almost immediately.

During cross-examination, Brand’s lawyers challenged her description of the encounter and argued that the sexual activity had been consensual. They also suggested that she and Brand had discussed anal sex beforehand.

Prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones has described Brand to the jury as “ruthless,” “calculating,” “manipulative” and “a sexual predator.” Those descriptions form part of the prosecution’s case and are disputed by Brand, who has pleaded not guilty.

What charges does Brand face?

Brand faces:

  • Three counts of rape
  • Three counts of sexual assault
  • One count of indecent assault

The charges concern six women and alleged conduct between 1999 and 2009. Five original charges involved four women and incidents allegedly committed between 1999 and 2005. The Crown Prosecution Service added rape and sexual-assault charges involving two further women in December 2025.

Prosecutors said the women did not know one another. They approached police after a 2023 investigation by The Times, The Sunday Times and Channel 4 reported allegations from several women.

Channel 4 later found that a serious staff complaint made in 2009, separate from the allegation described in court this week, had not been properly investigated or escalated. That finding has added an institutional question to the criminal proceedings: whether organisations around Brand responded adequately when concerns were raised.

Arriving for the trial, Brand said he was concerned but hopeful that the process would produce “good outcomes for everybody involved.” The trial is continuing at Southwark Crown Court.