A woman has told Russell Brand’s rape trial that the comedian changed into a “monster” before allegedly raping her in a hotel room in 1999.
Giving evidence at Southwark Crown Court, the woman said Brand had appeared friendly and playful when they met at a fringe theatrical performance during the Labour Party conference. She later invited him to her hotel room for a cup of tea, believing he was gay and would not pose a threat.
Brand, 51, denies three counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault and one count of indecent assault involving six women.
The witness, now in her 50s, said the actor and comedian had initially complimented her as they discussed a possible play. But she told police in an interview played to the jury that his behaviour changed after he removed his top and began “prancing around like an ostrich” while asking her to take photographs of him.
Sobbing, she recalled: “He changed from this person who is camp and effeminate and friendly to monster-like.”
She said Brand became “dark and arrogant and performing”, adding: “He was scary and demanding. He was the centre of the show. It was like he was back on stage. He was 100 per cent not that person I was chatting to.”
The woman alleged that Brand then pushed her on to the bed and raped her. She said she told him: “No I don’t want this,” but he replied: “Let yourself into it, let yourself enjoy it, do not worry about shame and reputation.”
Describing the alleged assault, she said she could not fight back because of his weight and strength. “I did not want sex with him,” she said. “I could not fight back. I moved my head away when he stuck his fingers in my mouth. He was a big heavy weight on me, I did not have the physical strength to push him off.”
She said she felt as though she was choking and that Brand repeatedly insisted they were having fun. “This is what abusers do,” she told police. “It was almost like trying to convince me it’s all OK. I’d have to learn to enjoy it.”
The woman told jurors that she had frozen when Brand stripped, saying she felt she had nowhere to run. She described him as skinny, with intense eyes, and said she found his body “a bit snake-like and disgusting”.
She alleged that he pulled off her trousers and underwear and that she begged him to stop because it hurt. “I could not even breathe,” she said, adding that she believed he knew exactly what he was doing.
Afterwards, Brand allegedly said he had to leave to see his mother and appeared flippant about the incident, telling her not to worry because he had regular tests for sexually transmitted infections.
The witness said she locked the door after he left, burst into tears and spent hours cleaning herself. She told the court she had questioned whether she was to blame and worried she might have become pregnant.
She did not contact police until after watching a 2023 Channel 4 Dispatches programme featuring allegations made by several women against Brand. Giving evidence from behind a screen, she said she came forward after seeing “how manipulative he was”.
During cross-examination, Ian Winter KC, defending Brand, accused the witness of lying about falling “under the spell” of the “magnetic” star. The judge interrupted the barrister several times over questions put to her.
The woman insisted she had not wanted a one-night stand and had not invited Brand to her room for sex. “I did not go there for sex and I categorically did not want sex with him,” she said. “He raped me.”
Brand, wearing a suit and a silver cross, showed no emotion in court. The trial continues.
