LONDON: British comedian and actor Russell Brand appeared in a London court on Friday to face five charges of rape and other sexual offenses and said.
Brand, 49, who became known internationally as the husband of pop star Katy Perry after forging a career in Britain with his risque comedy routines, was charged last month.
He faces two counts of rape, two of sexual assault and one of indecent assault.
Arriving for the first court hearing in the case, Brand made his way slowly through a crush of media and onlookers gathered outside the court.
The celebrity, dressed casually in a dark colored open-necked shirt and jeans, spoke only to confirm his details before being granted bail and ordered to appear in court again on May 30.
In a video response on X after he was charged, Brand denied all the alleged offenses and said he was “grateful” for the “opportunity” to defend himself.
“I was a fool before I lived in the light of the Lord. I was a drug addict, a sex addict and an imbecile, but what I never was a rapist. I’ve never engaged in non-consensual activity,” he said in the video.
The charges relate to offenses alleged to have taken place between 1999 and 2005 involving four women.
Prosecutors charged him after a police investigation into allegations following a broadcast of a Channel 4 documentary in September 2023.
London’s Metropolitan Police have said the investigation remains open and urged “anyone who has been affected by this case, or anyone who has any information” to contact officers.
Brand is charged with the rape of a woman in 1999 in the Bournemouth area on England’s south coast, as well as the abuse and sexual assault of a woman in 2004 in the Westminster area of central London.
He has also been charged with indecently assaulting a woman in 2001 and sexually assaulting another woman between 2004 and 2005 — both incidents alleged to have taken place in Westminster.
The court confirmed that he lives part of the time in the United States, but Brand also gave an address in the southern English county of Buckinghamshire.
Born in 1975 to working-class parents in Essex, east of London, Brand began his stand-up career as a teenager.
He burst onto the scene as a provocative, often lewd comedian before transforming into a Hollywood star, then an anti-establishment guru and conspiracy theorist who has millions of fans online.
He has almost seven million subscribers on YouTube, 11.3 million on X and 4.8 million on Instagram.
He presented a show on the BBC’s Radio 2 station between 2006 and 2008 but left after an on-air prank when he left a sexually explicit voicemail for “Fawlty Towers” actor Andrew Sachs about his granddaughter.
He also presented a “Big Brother” spin-off show for several years and wrote columns for the left-wing Guardian newspaper and penned two autobiographies.
Brand was married to US star Perry for 14 months between 2010 and 2012.
He is now married to the author and illustrator Laura Gallacher, with whom he has three children.
UK comedian Russell Brand appears in court on rape charges
https://arab.news/rdwa4
UK comedian Russell Brand appears in court on rape charges
- He faces two counts of rape, two of sexual assault and one of indecent assault
- Arriving for the first court hearing in the case, Brand made his way slowly through a crush of media and onlookers gathered outside the court
‘The Wrecking Crew’ — Jason Momoa and Dave Bautista head enjoyable romp
RIYADH: Angel Manuel Soto directs this odd-couple action-comedy with a confidence and flair that — along with the chemistry between its central performers and its better-than-you’d-ever-expect script — just about raises it above the slop swarming the streamers.
Jason Momoa and Dave Bautista play estranged half-brothers Jonny and James Halle. Both have the same father — a not-much-liked private detective called Walter who’s just been killed in a hit-and-run in Hawaii (where they were raised and where James, a Navy SEAL, still lives). Neither brother is particularly upset to hear the news of Walter’s death, but when Yakuza henchmen attack Jonny in his Oklahoma home (where he’s a maverick, heavy-drinking cop) demanding a package sent by Walter (a package he hasn’t yet received), he decides to return to Hawaii for the first time in years to attend the funeral and investigate further.
Jonny’s reunion with James is less than cordial, but he does meet James’ wife Leila and their kids for the first time. Leila is a child-psychologist — not afraid to call the brothers out on their emotional shortcomings, nor to try and help them fix their fractured fraternity.
The brothers’ investigation uncovers a plan to build a casino on Hawaiian home lands (an area held in trust for Native Hawaiians). The developer is the extremely wealthy Marcus Robichaux (played with gleeful pantomime-villain campness by Claes Bang), who — it turns out — had hired Walter to investigate his wife, who had hired Walter to investigate her husband.
Now our heroes know who they have to bring down, they’re into far more comfortable territory (both for the characters and, you suspect, the actors). Yep. Forget the dialogue, it’s action time.
Cue multiple scenes of high-octane mayhem expertly helmed by Soto in what’s essentially a slightly updated (emotional healing!) throwback to the dumb-but-fun action blockbusters of the Eighties and Nineties. The nostalgia isn’t hidden, either. The soundtrack starts with Guns N’ Roses and ends with Phil Collins. And there’s a shoutout to Jean-Claude Van Damme in between.
There’s a plot here too, but, honestly, who cares? Momoa and Bautista get to flex their considerable muscles, show off their ink, and make a few wisecracks. No one’s watching this for a clever twist, right? Watch it hoping for a couple hours of entertaining excitement and you’ll be well satisfied.
