Hours after Russell Brand issued a blanket denial of “very, very serious criminal allegations” that he claimed were about to surface, the Sunday Times is reporting that several women are accusing the British comedian of “rape, sexual assaults and emotional abuse.”
As the Times reports, its joint investigation with Channel 4’s “Dispatches” (which will air a 90-minute documentary focusing on the allegations on Saturday night in the U.K.) details the blockbuster allegations.
“Five women, four of whom asked to remain anonymous, agreed to share their stories of serious sexual allegations in the program,” a “Dispatches” rep told the Times.
READ MORE: Russell Brand Denies ‘Very, Very Serious Criminal Allegations’ About His ‘Promiscuous’ Past
According to Times, Brand is being accused of sexual assault by four women, during a time period ranging from 2006 until 2013; Brand was married to pop superstar Katy Perry from 2010 until 2012.
One alleged victim claimed that she was just 16 when Brand — then in his 30s — sexually assaulted her during what she described as an “emotionally and sexually abusive” relationship lasting three months.
Another accuser alleged that Brand raped her in his Los Angeles home in 2012, while a third, who was working with him in Los Angeles at the time, claims that he sexually assaulted her at his home in 2013, and threatened to sue if she ever went public.
In addition, a 24-year-old runner claimed Brand “flashed his penis” when she entered his dressing room, and “insinuated that she could give him oral sex.”
Meanwhile, Brand’s former personal assistant, Helen Berger, told the Times that she witnessed Brand displaying “intimate pictures of women” to his friends, one of which was a photo of a woman that she knew.
Daniel Slott, a male comedian, also told the Times that he’d been told by female comedians that they’d been “warning each other about Russell” for years.
According to the Times, when Brand’s lawyers were presented with the allegations, they responded by stating they were “not in a position” to reply; further communication reportedly went unanswered.
The day before the Times‘ report was published, Brand posted a video on YouTube in which he categorically denied the accusations.
“These allegations pertain to the time when I was working in the mainstream, when I was in the newspapers all the time, when I was in the movies,” he said.
“As I’ve written about extensively in my books, I was very, very promiscuous. Now, during that time of promiscuity, the relationships I had were absolutely always consensual,” he continued.
“I was always transparent about that then — almost too transparent,” he added. “And I’m being transparent about it now as well. And to see that transparency metastasized into something criminal, that I absolutely deny, makes me question: is there another agenda at play?” he asked, floating a theory that the allegations are part of a “coordinated attack” by “mainstream media” to silence him; in recent years, Brand has been criticized for presenting misinformation and conspiracy theories about topics ranging from 911 to COVID-19.
READ MORE: Russell Brand Called Out For ‘Sexist’ Parenting Style
“It’s been clear to me, or at least it feels to me, like there’s a serious and concerted agenda to control these kinds of spaces and these kinds of voices — and I mean my voice along with your voice,” Brand said.
“I don’t mind them using my books and my standup to talk about my promiscuous, consensual conduct in the past,” he added. “What I seriously refute are these very, very, serious criminal allegations.”
