British comedian and actor Russell Brand has been formally charged with rape, oral rape, indecent assault, and two counts of sexual assault, the Metropolitan Police announced Friday. The allegations, tied to four separate women, span incidents alleged to have occurred between 1999 and 2005.
Brand, 49, is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London on May 2. The charges follow a police investigation launched in September 2023 after multiple women came forward with allegations of sexual misconduct, initially reported by The Sunday Times, The Times, and Channel 4's current affairs program Dispatches.
According to police, one woman alleges she was raped in Bournemouth in 1999. Another accuses Brand of indecent assault in London's Westminster area in 2001. A third alleges oral rape and sexual assault in Westminster in 2004. A fourth woman claims she was sexually assaulted by Brand between 2004 and 2005, also in London.
Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy, who is overseeing the case, stated, "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."
Brand, who has not commented publicly on the latest charges, has previously denied all allegations of non-consensual activity. In a video posted online in 2023, before the joint investigation by The Times and Channel 4 was made public, he said, "I absolutely refute" the claims and added, "The relationships I had were absolutely, always consensual."
He also stated at the time, "I was always transparent about that then-almost too transparent. And I'm being transparent about it now as well. And to see that transparency metastasized into something criminal, that I absolutely deny."
The initial Dispatches documentary featured five women, including one who was just 16 at the time of her alleged encounter with Brand, describing incidents that allegedly occurred between 2006 and 2013. While those specific accusations are not currently part of the criminal charges, police have confirmed that their investigation remains active.
Following the allegations made public in September, multiple entities severed ties with Brand. His literary agent, Tavistock Wood, stated they would no longer represent him. Trevi Women and Children's Charity UK, which had partnered with Brand's Stay Free Foundation, also cut ties.
Several stand-up shows from Brand's Bipolarisation tour were postponed, with promoters stating, "We are postponing these few remaining addiction charity fundraiser shows, we don't like doing it-but we know you'll understand," according to The Hollywood Reporter.
A spokesperson for the BBC, where Brand worked on radio programs from 2006 to 2008, said in a statement, "The documentary and associated reports contained serious allegations, spanning a number of years... we are urgently looking into the issues raised."
Channel 4 and production company Banijay, which acquired Endemol-producers of Big Brother's Big Mouth, a show Brand once hosted-also announced internal investigations into the allegations.
