Russell Brand arrived at Southwark Crown Court in London on Tuesday for a two-day pre-trial hearing, six days before he stands trial on charges of rape and sexual assault.
Brand, 51, stepped out of a black Mercedes about an hour before the proceedings, wearing a grey suit jacket, open-necked white shirt and sunglasses. He walked past waiting photographers without comment, accompanied by a security guard and a woman. The comedian, who lives in the United States, remains on bail.
The trial opens Monday and is expected to run 10 to 12 weeks. Brand denies all seven counts: three of rape, three of sexual assault and one of indecent assault. Six women make the allegations, which span a decade from 1999 to 2009. The start date arrived after a delay of roughly four months from the original June schedule, which the court postponed.
Hearings so far have outlined the prosecution’s case. One woman says Brand raped her in a hotel room during the Labour Party conference in Bournemouth in 1999. Another says he grabbed a television worker’s breasts and forced her into a sex act in a toilet. A third says he kissed and groped a radio station employee. Prosecutors have also alleged he dragged a woman toward a men’s bathroom at a London television station in 2001.
The charges have grown since Brand first entered pleas in May 2025, when he faced five counts involving four women. Police opened their investigation after a media inquiry published in September 2023, and prosecutors authorized charges in April 2025.
Brand has maintained his innocence throughout. After he was charged, he said in a video that he had “never engaged in nonconsensual activity” and welcomed the chance to defend himself in court. He rose to prominence in the 2000s as a stand-up comedian, television presenter and Hollywood actor before reinventing himself as a podcaster and online commentator. He has since publicly embraced Christianity and said the case against him is politically motivated.
Jury selection and opening arguments will follow Monday, with the case set to draw intense international attention.
