Russell Brand Spotted In Florida After Rape And Assault Charges
According to the report by DailyMail, Russell
Brand was seen smiling broadly as he appeared with his wife Laura and two of
their three children at the upmarket Gasparilla Inn, Florida at around
10.30am on Friday - just moments after the charges against him were announced.
The comedian has been charged with rape,
indecent assault, oral rape and two counts of sexual assault for alleged
incidents that took place between 1999 and 2005.
According to a source, Russell Brand appears to be on holiday and
renting a beachfront villa at the swanky golf resort in Boca Grande, TMZ reported.
He was seen walking towards a golf cart when
the photographs were taken.
Russell Brand has since hit out at the
serious allegations against him, accusing the government of turning the law
into 'a weapon', before repeating previous denials that he has ever engaged in
non-consensual sex.
In a video posted to X, formerly Twitter on Friday afternoon, Russell Brand
thanked fans for their support and said he would fight the claims in
court.
'I was a fool before I lived in the light of
the Lord. I was a drug addict, a sex addict and an imbecile,' he said.
'But
what I never was, was a rapist. I have never engaged in non-consensual activity
- I pray that you can see that by looking in my eyes.'
It
comes after the comedian, 49, was accused of rape, sexual assaults and
emotional abuse by several women in a joint investigation by The Sunday Times,
The Times and Channel 4 Dispatches
in September 2023.
The Metropolitan
Police have now charged Brand - who lives in Florida -
by post and issued a court summons.
Russell
Brand is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on May 2.
He
is charged with the rape of a woman in 1999 in the Bournemouth area and the
oral rape and sexual assault of a woman in 2004 in the Westminster area
of London.
Essex-born
Brand was also charged with indecently assaulting a woman in 2001 and sexually
assaulting another woman between 2004 and 2005. Both offences are alleged to
have taken place in Westminster.
The
star was married to pop singer Katy Perry from 2010 to 2012 - then in 2017 wed Laura Gallacher, the sister of presenter Kirsty, and the
pair have three children.
Brand,
who presented a BBC Radio 2 show between 2006 and 2008, left the role
after his on-air prank, now known as Sachsgate, when he left a 'lewd' voicemail
for Fawlty Towers actor Andrew Sachs about his granddaughter. He also presented
on Big Brother spin-off shows Big Brother's Big Mouth and Big Brother:
Celebrity Hijack.
In the video posted to X on Friday, Brand
claimed that the law was being used as a weapon against people who would
not tolerate corruption.
After denying his guilt of the sex offences,
he added: 'I want to thank all of you for all your continuing support.
'I want to let you know that our show will be
on Rumble on Monday, thanks for your support there, and of course I’m now going
to have the opportunity to defend these charges in court and I’m incredibly
grateful for that.
'In the meantime you lot, stay free and we
will be continuing to discuss this matter. Praise the Lord.'
Today, Metropolitan Police Detective
Superintendent Andy Furphy said: 'The women who have made reports continue to
receive support from specially trained officers.
'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. A dedicated team of
investigators is available via email at CIT@met.police.uk.
'Support is also available by contacting the
independent charity, Rape Crisis at 24/7 Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Line.'
Jaswant Narwal of the Crown Prosecution
Service said: 'We have today authorised the Metropolitan Police to charge
Russell Brand with a number of sexual offences.
'We carefully reviewed the evidence after a
police investigation into allegations made following the broadcast of a Channel
4 documentary in September 2023.
'We have concluded that Russell Brand should
be charged with offences including rape, sexual assault and indecent assault.
These relate to reported non-recent offences between 1999 and 2005, involving
four women.
'He will appear at Westminster Magistrates'
Court for a first hearing on Friday 2 May 2025. The Crown Prosecution Service
reminds everyone that criminal proceedings are active, and the defendant has
the right to a fair trial.
'It is extremely important that there be no
reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way
prejudice these proceedings.'
It comes after Brand attended a record reveal
party for prominent Christian worship singer Brandon Lake in Charleston, South
Carolina on Wednesday.
Appearing on stage together, Brand told Lake
that he was 'so honoured' to be there and the 'palpable presence of the Lord is
a glory to behold'.
Brand added: 'Man, I really admire you
because I don't think it's very easy to live in a commercial space, to be an
entertainer, and remain aligned with the Lord.
'It seems like a place that's fraught with
temptation and spiritual warfare and I think that all of us - particularly
someone like me who has come to Christ very recently…
'I can feel that there is a lot of change and
a lot of transformation and I feel blessed to be in a community of people that
are able to hold this incredible amount of change.'
In November 2024, the CPS confirmed that
detectives from the Metropolitan Police had passed on an evidence file
regarding sex offence allegations against Brand.
The actor has previously denied wrongdoing
and stated that all his sexual relationships were 'absolutely always
consensual'.
At the time of the alleged offences, Brand
was at the height of his stardom, working for BBC Radio 2 and Channel 4 as well
as appearing in Hollywood films.
Brand rose to fame with his stand-up
performances, making his Edinburgh Festival debut in 2000 before achieving
prominence as host of Big Brother's spin-off show Big Mouth from 2004 for three
years.
However, in 2008, he and presenter Jonathan
Ross were at the centre of a furore after leaving a series of lewd messages
during a prank on BBC Radio 2 on the answerphone of Fawlty Towers actor Andrew
Sachs, who died in 2016.
The pre-recorded show caused uproar,
prompting Brand and the controller of Radio 2 to quit, Ross to be suspended from
broadcasting for three months and a shake-up in the way BBC output was vetted.
Ofcom later fined the BBC £150,000 over the
phone calls, describing them as 'gratuitously offensive, humiliating and
demeaning'.
During an interview for BBC Radio 4's Desert
Island Discs in 2013, Brand claimed the scandal, later named Sachsgate, had
erupted because he had become caught up in an anti-BBC 'agenda'.
He reiterated his apology for the upset the
incident caused, but suggested it was a 'dishonest scandal' because it was
hijacked by those motivated by a bias against the corporation.
Brand's career in the US soared following the
Sachsgate scandal, starring in a number of major Hollywood films including
Forgetting Sarah Marshall opposite Kristen Bell, and Get Him To The Greek with
Jonah Hill, both in which he plays the same anarchic British rock star Aldous
Snow.
He also starred in the re-make of the Dudley
Moore comedy Arthur alongside Dame Helen Mirren, Jennifer Garner and Greta
Gerwig, the boozy tale of a wayward playboy.
During this time, Brand met US pop star Katy
Perry at the MTV Video Music Awards in September 2009 and after enjoying a
whirlwind romance, Brand proposed outside the Taj Mahal in India two months
later.
The couple were married at a lavish ceremony
conducted by a friend of the bride's family at the Aman-e-Khas luxury resort
outside the Ranthambore tiger sanctuary in India in October 2010.
Rumours of cracks in their relationship began
to circulate when the pair were pictured spending Christmas apart, and 14
months after the ceremony Brand announced the couple had split.
At the time, Brand said: 'Sadly, Katy and I
are ending our marriage. I'll always adore her and I know we'll remain
friends.'
In 2015, Brand hit the headlines once again
for urging people to vote Labour after repeatedly saying they should not vote.
He later said in an interview with NME: 'My
opinion on voting is evolving,' while warning that 'the end of democracy' could
be near.
Brand also sparked controversy on Comic
Relief in 2017 by saying 'f****** hell' live on air following a technical
glitch.
Despite no longer being a prominent figure in
mainstream film, television or radio, Brand turned to online platforms and has
embraced an anti-establishment narrative in recent years.
Brand's following current stands at
6.8million subscribers on YouTube, 11.3million followers on X and 4.8million
followers on Instagram.
During the pandemic he regularly covered
topics such as alleged misinformation surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic and
being an outspoken sceptic of the vaccine.
In recent months Brand has talked about his
newfound Christian faith, and he was baptised in the River Thames by TV
adventurer Bear Grylls in April last year.
In February it was revealed he had moved from
his Oxfordshire home to the US, and he is thought to have settled in Florida.
He also starred in the re-make of the Dudley
Moore comedy Arthur alongside Dame Helen Mirren, Jennifer Garner and Greta
Gerwig, the boozy tale of a wayward playboy.
During this time, Brand met US pop star Katy
Perry at the MTV Video Music Awards in September 2009 and after enjoying a
whirlwind romance, Brand proposed outside the Taj Mahal in India two months
later.
The couple were married at a lavish ceremony
conducted by a friend of the bride's family at the Aman-e-Khas luxury resort
outside the Ranthambore tiger sanctuary in India in October 2010.
Rumours of cracks in their relationship began
to circulate when the pair were pictured spending Christmas apart, and 14
months after the ceremony Brand announced the couple had split.
At the time, Brand said: 'Sadly, Katy and I
are ending our marriage. I'll always adore her and I know we'll remain
friends.'
In 2015, Brand hit the headlines once again
for urging people to vote Labour after repeatedly saying they should not vote.
He later said in an interview with NME: 'My
opinion on voting is evolving,' while warning that 'the end of democracy' could
be near.
Brand also sparked controversy on Comic
Relief in 2017 by saying 'f****** hell' live on air following a technical
glitch.
Despite no longer being a prominent figure in
mainstream film, television or radio, Brand turned to online platforms and has
embraced an anti-establishment narrative in recent years.
Brand's following current stands at
6.8million subscribers on YouTube, 11.3million followers on X and 4.8million
followers on Instagram.
During the pandemic he regularly covered
topics such as alleged misinformation surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic and
being an outspoken sceptic of the vaccine.
In recent months Brand has talked about his
newfound Christian faith, and he was baptised in the River Thames by TV
adventurer Bear Grylls in April last year.
In February it was revealed he had moved from
his Oxfordshire home to the US, and he is thought to have settled in Florida.
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