Third woman tells Russell Brand trial she was raped in Soho bar toilet

A third complainant has given evidence in the Russell Brand trial at Southwark Crown Court, alleging that he sexually assaulted and orally raped her at a Soho bar in 2004. The woman, who worked for MTV, told the jury through a police interview recorded in 2023 that she met Brand at a party thrown by a colleague. She said he arrived late and they chatted at the bar. Brand, 51, denies all charges against him: three counts of rape, three of sexual assault and one of indecent assault. The charges involve six women over a ten-year period.

The woman said that within about 30 seconds to a minute of conversation, Brand grabbed her breasts 'out of nowhere'. She described a 'weird maniacal grin' that she said was 'like a clown' and said she was completely shocked. She alleged that he then grabbed her arm and dragged her into the bar toilet. In her account, he pushed her head down and orally raped her. She said she asked, 'What are you doing?' and he replied, 'oh come on, come on, don't be a spoilsport'. She said every time she moved away he forced her back. At one point she said: 'I just closed my eyes and tried not to be there.' She also said she told him she did not want to do it. Afterwards, she said, he acted normally and said: 'I guess we should swap numbers now.'

The court heard further allegations about what happened later. The woman said she was steered into a car and Brand exposed himself and asked for oral sex. She said she refused and he accepted no for an answer. She told the court she had told her sister and a male friend at the time that Brand had dragged her into the toilet and tried to force a sex act, but not that he had succeeded. She reported the allegation in 2023 after a documentary about Brand was released.

Under cross-examination, Ian Winter KC for the defence suggested the woman went willingly to the toilet for a kiss and cuddle. He asked why she did not shout, slap him or struggle, and said other people would have come to her rescue. She denied being starstruck or charmed. She said: 'I was thinking of survival,' and: 'I'd met this person for less than a minute before they sexually assaulted me.' She also said she was dragged into the room against her will and that it was hard to get away when someone was gripping her arm. When asked why she did not report during the Me Too movement, she said she did not want to be the first person to do so and feared she would not be believed. She said it would have been a celebrity's word against hers and described a lad culture in which women were told they were asking for it. She became emotional as she said Brand had stolen her innocence.

Brand watched the evidence from the glass dock, sitting still and upright, with his wife Laura Gallagher nearby. His defence lawyer said Brand has no recollection of the alleged exposure in the car. The defence also said the toilet allegation was a consensual act that the woman had reimagined. Brand has pleaded not guilty and says he has never engaged in anything non-consensual. The trial continues.