Russell Brand appeared in Westminster Magistrates' Court in London on Friday for his first hearing on rape and sexual‑assault charges.
Prosecutor Suki Dhadda told the 12‑minute hearing that Brand, 49, faces two counts of rape, two counts of sexual assault and one count of indecent assault involving four women between 1999 and 2005, The Times reported.
Brand arrived from his home in the United States wearing a black shirt, jeans and brown boots.
He was escorted by Oliver Schneider‑Sikorsky, the solicitor who successfully defended actor Kevin Spacey on sexual‑assault charges in 2023, and reportedly by an unnamed man baptized alongside him in the River Thames last year.
Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring granted conditional bail, ordering Brand to reside at his stated address and avoid contact with complainants. He sent the case to the Central Criminal Court, known as the Old Bailey, for a plea and trial preparation hearing on May 30.
Brand spoke only once in court, replying "Thank you" after the judge described the next steps.
The most serious allegation accuses Brand of raping a woman in September 1999 after a Labour Party conference in Bournemouth, The Times notes.
Court documents say he met the woman at the event, followed her to her hotel, removed some of his clothing while she was in the bathroom, then pushed her onto a bed and raped her before leaving an email address.
A second complainant, identified as a television worker, alleges Brand tried to drag her into a men's restroom in London in 2001 and indecently assaulted her there. A third television worker says Brand grabbed her breasts at a Soho bar in 2004 and forced her to perform oral sex in a toilet stall.
A fourth accuser, a radio employee, contends that in 2004 or 2005, Brand grabbed her face, kissed her roughly and groped her while he was presenting the television program "Big Brother's Big Mouth."
Dhadda described the case as indictable only, meaning it can be tried only in a crown court.
Goldspring told Brand: "You are obliged to attend on that date. If you don't, and there's not a good reason for that, you potentially face an offense of failing to surrender and the court will almost certainly issue a warrant for your arrest."
The Crown Prosecution Service announced the charges last month.
Police investigated Brand after a 2023 investigation by The Times, the Sunday Times and Channel 4's "Dispatches," which reported on accusations by five women of sexual assault and "emotional abuse" between 2006 and 2013.
Brand has rejected the allegations. While he has acknowledged that he was "very, very promiscuous" earlier in his life, he contends "the relationships I had were absolutely always consensual."
In a video posted last month, Brand said: "I was a fool before I lived in the light of the Lord. I was a drug addict, sex addict and an imbecile, but what I never was was a rapist." He added, "I pray that you can see that by looking in my eyes," and welcomed "the opportunity to defend these charges in court."
He also criticized the United Kingdom's legal system, asserting that "the law has become a kind of weapon to be used against people, institutions and sometimes entire nations." He thanked his supporters and linked his legal troubles to what he described as widespread distrust in government.
Brand, who gained fame as a comedian and actor before moving into podcasting, was married to pop singer Katy Perry from 2010 to 2012.
He married Laura Gallacher in 2017 and has three children.
He documented his conversion to Christianity, as reported by The Christian Post, which culminated in a baptism last year and continued with the comedian baptizing others.
If convicted on any of the indictable‑only charges, Brand could face imprisonment.
The Old Bailey will set a trial timetable after hearing Brand's pleas and reviewing case management issues. He remains on conditional bail under a magistrate's supervision until that hearing.
