Russell Brand’s lawyer challenges rape allegations in closing speech

Russell Brand’s defence barrister challenged the allegations against the comedian in a closing speech at Southwark crown court on Monday, arguing that his sexual relationships were lawful and that he respected women who refused him. Brand, 51, denies seven offences involving six women, with the allegations covering a 10-year period beginning in 1999.

Ian Winter KC told jurors that reporting in 2023 had undermined the fairness of the case by encouraging women to make accusations. He criticised the time complainants had taken to contact police and argued that a Channel 4 Dispatches documentary, alongside reports in the Times and Sunday Times, had influenced the allegations that followed.

Winter introduced that argument by reading from an 1864 passage by the theologian and philosopher John Henry Newman about poisoning wells. Applying the metaphor to the coverage of Brand, he alleged that the reporting had been intended to bring forward further accusations. In her closing address on Friday, prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones KC rejected the suggestion that media coverage had caused six rational women to invent or reinterpret their experiences with the comedian.

The defence also questioned why three women had accused Brand of rape when he had had sex with many women during the period covered by the case. Winter urged the jury to distinguish any moral judgement about Brand’s promiscuity from the question of whether he had committed a crime. He argued that jurors needed to consider whether they could be sure the three alleged rapes had occurred.

Winter pointed to the rape complainants’ descriptions of Brand behaving normally after the alleged incidents. He argued that this supported the defence position that Brand believed the encounters were consensual. The barrister also maintained that there was no evidence Brand regarded rape as normal behaviour.

The earliest allegation concerns a woman who said Brand raped her in 1999 after performing at a fringe cabaret event during the Labour party conference in Bournemouth. She told the court that he asked whether she was enjoying herself during the alleged rape and left his email address afterwards. Challenging her account, Winter referred to Brand’s evidence that he had tried unsuccessfully to please her.

Winter argued that Brand sought approval and adoration from women and respected refusals of sex. He presented that account as part of the defence’s case that the comedian had not committed rape.

Brand faces three counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault and one count of attempted indecent assault. The final charge was changed from indecent assault on Tuesday. He has pleaded not guilty to every charge. The trial continues.