Russell Brand’s Lawyer Delivers Closing Argument at London Rape Trial

LONDON — Russell Brand’s lawyer told a jury at Southwark Crown Court on Monday that there is “no evidence” the comedian is “some kind of psychopath who rapes people and thinks it’s normal,” in a closing speech that set the defence account of consent against the prosecution’s.

Brand denies all seven counts: three of rape, three of sexual assault and one of attempted indecent assault, brought by six women who allege offences between 1999 and 2009. This report does not identify the complainants, and no verdicts had been reported at the time of writing.

Consent is the central issue. Brand’s defence throughout the trial has been that every sexual encounter was consensual, while the prosecution told jurors on Friday that the women said no and he did not stop.

Ian Winter KC, Brand’s barrister, argued that Brand’s behaviour after the alleged attacks showed he believed the women were consenting, The Hollywood Reporter reported. He also asked jurors to consider that the accusers did not “resist, scream or try to leave” the attacks they have alleged.

According to court reports, Winter told jurors that a Channel 4 documentary and newspaper stories in 2023 had “poisoned the well,” prompting people to bring allegations many years later. He asked whether jurors could be sure that, among “the many, many women who voluntarily had sex with Mr Brand,” he had raped “just three of them.”

Lead prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones told the jury on Friday that the six women do not know one another and that none “sought the limelight” or “any kind of publicity.” She said they had nothing to gain beyond “some closure,” and described the defence as “a lot of half-truths, but spun into lies,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Karmy-Jones also rejected the suggestion that the 2023 documentary had a “subliminal hold” on six rational women, according to court reports, and said a lack of consent was for Brand “just an obstacle he would have to remove, or perhaps ignore.”

Brand gave evidence last week and told the court that consent is “fundamental, essential and necessary.” Court reports say he accepted having “dedicated” much of his life to “reckless philandering.” His wife, Laura, also testified and described him as “kind and a wonderful father.”

This report draws on contemporaneous accounts of proceedings in open court, and The Eastern Herald has not independently verified them. None of the reports reviewed said when jurors would begin deliberating or when verdicts are expected.