Jemima Goldsmith has accused Russell Brand of “violence, coercive control and abuse”, saying she called police to remove him from her home during a violent incident in 2014.
Ms Goldsmith, who was in a relationship with Brand until that year, said she chose not to press charges because she feared the effect of media attention on her life and her teenage children.
Her statement came after Brand was sentenced to 10 years and six months in prison after being found guilty of rape and three sexual assaults.
Writing on X, Ms Goldsmith said: “Firstly, and most importantly, I am and have always been strongly and unequivocally on the side of all of Brand’s victims.”
She added: “I am in awe of the courageous women who came forward at Brand’s trial, told their stories, testified and ensured justice was done. I have had my own personal experience of his violence, coercive control and abuse.”
Ms Goldsmith said she had not seen or spoken to Brand since 2014. She described the period as difficult and said it had had “a lasting impact”, while adding that her experience paled in comparison with what the women who testified in court had suffered.
Injunction over massage therapist’s allegations
The disclosure follows reports about an injunction obtained by Brand and Ms Goldsmith against massage therapist Szilvia Berki in connection with an incident at Kiddington Hall, the heiress’s mansion near Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, in June 2014.
Ms Berki, who is Hungarian, had been hired to massage Brand on his birthday for an agreed fee of £500. She complained to police, alleging that the session did not take place and that she had been treated “like a prostitute”.
She reportedly said Brand pushed her and that she was left terrified after Ms Goldsmith’s white Alsatian jumped at her. Brand and Ms Goldsmith denied wrongdoing and said they had ordered a standard, rather than sexual, massage.
The police investigation was later dropped. Ms Berki continued to post about the incident online, however, and a court found that her activity amounted to harassment.
In October 2015, Brand and Ms Goldsmith were granted an anti-harassment order which barred Ms Berki from communicating about them or disclosing information about her visit to the house. It also prohibited allegations or insinuations that either had committed a criminal offence against her.
The order prevented Ms Berki from approaching or responding to journalists about the claimants. She was ordered to pay £50,000 in legal costs and has since made three unsuccessful attempts to appeal.
Ms Goldsmith said recent reporting about the injunction had created an untrue narrative and exposed her to online abuse. She said Ms Berki had carried out what she described as a campaign of “vicious anti-Semitic and threatening abuse” online and by email, which she found frightening and distressing for her family.
It is understood that Ms Goldsmith has told Ms Berki she would agree to the injunction being varied to allow her to contact police again about her allegations. However, doing so appears to require Brand’s approval, despite Ms Goldsmith saying she has not spoken to him since 2014.
Ms Goldsmith said she had supported journalists over several years, including Ros Urwin, who was involved in reporting Brand’s abuse in a 2023 documentary referred to during his trial.
She concluded: “I am glad and relieved that Russell Brand has finally received justice.”
