Russell Brand Testifies in London Rape Trial, Admits No One Would Speak for Him

Russell Brand told Southwark Crown Court on Wednesday that not a single person with relevant information agreed to testify on his behalf, as he took the stand to deny all charges against him in his criminal rape trial in London.

Called as the first defense witness by his lawyer, Ian Winter KC, Brand was asked whether he had committed each of the alleged offenses. He repeatedly replied: "No." Questioned about his prominence in the mid-2000s, Brand said his 2010 marriage to Katy Perry brought "staggering fame."

He then disclosed the absence of any supporting witnesses. "My entire life has been consumed by these allegations," Brand told the court. "I have devoted myself to these matters."

Brand called the Channel 4 documentary about him "devastating" and claimed that Great Ormond Street Hospital barred him from visiting his sick son because he had been publicly accused of rape. "The reason given by Great Ormond Street Hospital when my son was receiving open heart surgery and subsequent treatment was due to the material published," he said, according to Sky News.

What has changed in the charges?

On Tuesday, judge Mr Justice Bennathan reduced one of Brand's seven charges from indecent assault to attempted indecent assault, telling jurors there was "insufficient evidence" regarding an alleged 2001 incident involving an MTV employee. Brand still faces three counts of rape and three counts of sexual assault. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges. The case involves six female complainants, all granted automatic lifelong anonymity under UK law, and covers alleged offenses between 1999 and 2009.

Outside the courthouse, Brand told journalists: "Due to the circumstances of today, I think it would be inappropriate for me to say anything other than I am very grateful that today's a day for truth and justice and we are blessed that as yet we have a system that can accommodate such things." He was accompanied by his wife, Laura Gallacher.

What did Brand say about the first allegation?

The first allegation concerns a woman who says Brand raped her at the 1999 Labour Party conference in Bournemouth after asking her to photograph him half-naked. On the stand, Brand said that after meeting at his cabaret show, the woman "suggested we go to her hotel room" and he thought there may be a "possibility of sex." In the room, he said, there was "messing about, some kissing on the body and sex with a condom." Asked about her claim that he forced her to take the photographs, Brand responded: "I don't know how you can make someone take photographs."

The prosecution has laid out its case over the past two weeks. In her opening statement, Riel Karmy-Jones KC described Brand as "ruthless and calculated" with an "indiscriminate and voracious" desire for sexual contact, and detailed each accusation:

• The first complainant alleges rape at the 1999 Labour Party conference in Bournemouth after being asked to take photos of Brand half-naked.
• The second alleges that in 2001, while she worked at MTV, Brand grabbed her and tried to pull her into a toilet.
• The third alleges Brand squeezed her breasts at a Soho party in 2004, then orally raped her in a toilet.
• The fourth alleges that at Capital Radio in 2004/2005, Brand pushed her against a wall and "aggressively" kissed her while grabbing "her body, at her breasts, sides and buttocks," the prosecution said.
• The fifth alleges Brand anally raped her in 2009 after consensual vaginal sex.
• The sixth alleges Brand demanded a massage from her during a work assignment in 2009.

What does this change for the trial?

Not much yet, in procedural terms: the defense has only begun, and Brand's admission that no one would testify for him is a fact the prosecution may weigh, not a verdict. The trial continues on Thursday, with Brand's cross-examination by the prosecution likely to determine whether his account of the 1999 encounter holds under pressure.