Comedian and actor Russell Brand is free on bail after making a virtual court appearance for two new sexual assault charges.
Brand, who has garnered greater popularity within the conservative movement over the past couple of years, was charged by the United Kingdom’s Crown Prosecution Service with one count of rape and one count of sexual assault in December. The two charges stem from allegations raised by two women in 2009.
Brand appeared before the Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday. He only spoke to confirm his name and date of birth. His next court appearance will be on February 17 at London’s Southwark Crown Court.
The “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” actor now faces a total of seven sexual assault charges based on allegations from a total of six women.
Last March, Brand was charged with out count of rape, one count of indecent assault, one count of oral rape, and two counts of sexual assault based upon acts he alleged committed between 1999 and 2005. He pleaded not guilty last May, and he is set to go to trial in June for those first batch of charges.
Brand has framed the charges against him as an act by those in power to silence him and others like him who will not “tolerate” corruption.
“I was a drug addict, a sex addict, and an imbecile but what I never was was a rapist,” he said in a video posted to social media. “I’ve never engaged in non-consensual activity and I pray that you can see that by looking in my eyes.”
Brand converted to Christianity in April 2024, and since his conversion has become a major influencer on the right. He was among one of the speakers at Turning Point USA’s America Fest last December.
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