Russell Brand has been convicted of rape and sexual assault and is now expected to face a substantial prison sentence.
A jury found the entertainer guilty of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault, following a four-week trial at Southwark Crown Court in London.
He was found not guilty of two other counts of rape and one count of attempted indecent assault. The jury deliberated for eight-and-a-half hours.
The 51-year-old was refused bail and will spend the weekend in custody before he is due to return to the same court on Monday for sentencing.
It can now be reported that Brand is also facing further rape allegations made by two women and has already been questioned by officers in relation to the complaints. The Metropolitan Police said its investigation “remains ongoing”.
During the trial, Brand faced allegations from six women spanning the decade between 1999 and 2009, when he rose to fame as one of Britain’s most high-profile entertainers.
The women came to court to reveal how Brand used his immense fame to force them into sexual activity.
Brand, who told his wife, Laura Brand “I love you” after entering the dock, displayed no emotion as the jury delivered its verdicts.
Afterwards, he mouthed “I’m good, I’m good” to his defence counsel as he left the dock. His walk was steadily paced, and he continued to show little emotion.
The judge, Mr Justice Bennathan, told Brand to expect “a significant custodial term” after the verdicts were delivered.
The jury found Brand guilty of raping a fan after meeting her at a 2009 stand-up show at the Hammersmith Apollo.
Brand was found guilty of groping an MTV worker during a party at a Soho bar in 2004 but not guilty of going on to rape her in a toilet.
He was convicted of kissing and groping a Choice FM worker after encountering her in a corridor at the Capital Radio building in 2004 or 2005.
Brand was also convicted by the jury of sexually assaulting a Channel 4 worker in 2009 when she had been forced to give him a massage.
Brand was found not guilty by the jury of raping a woman he met at a cabaret show on the fringes of the 1999 Labour Party conference in Bournemouth.
He was also cleared of trying to drag an MTV worker into a toilet to indecently assault her in 2001.
Brand had claimed to be the victim of a media conspiracy to paint him as a sexual predator and insisted in court that consent was “more important than sex itself”.
But he faced the compelling evidence of six women who accused him of crimes over the course of a decade.
Brand was also confronted with his own words from his 2007 book in which he claimed sex was a “birthright” and friends who revealed his relentless pursuit of sleeping with 5,000 women.
Mr Justice Bennathan ruled that Brand must be remanded into custody until sentencing on Monday, when he is expected to receive a lengthy prison sentence.
The judge said “I regret the hardship caused to the children, of course,” after being told that Brand would like bail over the weekend to explain the convictions to his children.
But he said Brand “has considerable resources”, adding: “Whatever the good intentions of the family and the defendant today, I think there are substantial grounds to fear he might in the end not feel able to come along and face his sentence.”
After the verdict, Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy paid tribute to the “extraordinary courage, resilience and determination of the women who came forward and reported what happened to them”.
“Despite intense media and public scrutiny, they relived deeply personal and traumatic experiences and placed their trust in us. Without their bravery, this outcome would not have been possible,” he said.
“Brand used his influence, status and fame to exploit and sexually offend against women. As his profile grew, so too did his sense of entitlement.”
He added: “I hope this conviction sends a clear message that no one is above the law, no matter how famous or powerful they may be.”
David Roberts, senior crown prosecutor in the London rape and serious sexual assault unit, described Brand as “predatory.”
“He was a manipulator with an insatiable desire to get what he wanted regardless of whether consent was given or not,” he said.
“As his career took off, he seized opportunities to assault the women around him. Although his tactics varied, at the centre of every assault was an abuse of power and sexual greed, with a complete disregard for the impact of his actions.
Ron Brand, Russell’s father told the BBC he was “bemused and shocked” by the verdicts, adding: “I just didn’t expect this – it’s wrong… it’s devastating.”
In his evidence, Brand admitted using his fame to “facilitate sexual access” and being “obsessed” with sex and “extremely promiscuous” in the past.
He said he had “dedicated a lot of my life to what seems now beyond reckless, philandering, and idiocy”.
But he insisted the sex was always consensual, and he denied all the charges.
His barrister told jurors that Brand “had an immense amount of sex”, but that “none of it was unlawful”.
Allegations about Brand’s behaviour first emerged in the media in September 2023.
The Times, Sunday Times and Channel 4’s Dispatches programme jointly reported that four women had accused him of rape, sexual assault and emotional abuse – claims he strongly denied.
The investigation into other reports against Brand began soon after the story broke.
Brand first rose to fame as a stand-up comedian and became a household name as host of TV shows such as Big Brother’s Big Mouth, and with his own radio programmes on stations including BBC Radio 2 and 6 Music.
He went on to establish a Hollywood career, starring in films including Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Get Him To The Greek. He was married to pop star Katy Perry from 2010 to 2012.
In recent years, he has reinvented himself as an online social, political and religious commentator.
Channel 4, The Times and Sunday Times and the BBC all paid tribute to the women involved in the case, highlighting their “courage.”
Channel 4, which aired Big Brother and its spin-off programmes at the time Brand was a presenter, said it recognised the “profound impact of these crimes.”
The Times and The Sunday Times also paid tribute to women who took part in their investigation with Channel 4 but who did not have their cases brought before a court, saying their contributions had been “vital”.
A BBC spokesperson said there could be “no place for the abuse of power” and added: “Across the industry we must work together to ensure that anyone who suffers at someone else’s hand feels able to report it, that their concerns are taken seriously and that they are listened to.”
The corporation restated its apology to staff who felt they could not speak up with concerns about Brand’s behaviour when he worked at the BBC between 2006 and 2008, because he was seen as “too influential.”
