Russell Brand Found Guilty of Rape, Taken Into Custody as Judge Warns of 'Significant' Prison Term
A London jury convicted the comedian on four of seven counts after eight and a half hours. His bail is gone, and sentencing is Monday. How did it come to this?
Russell Brand came to court on bail on Thursday. He left in custody.
A jury at Southwark Crown Court in London found the 51-year-old comedian and actor guilty of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault on November 5, 2026, after about eight and a half hours of deliberation, Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter reported. The jury cleared him of two other rape charges and one count of attempted indecent assault.
Bail revoked on the spot
Judge Joel Bennathan revoked Brand's bail and remanded him in custody. The rape verdict, the judge said, means "inevitably a significant custodial sentence," according to ABC News (Australia). Sentencing is set for Monday, November 9. In the UK, rape carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.
The seven charges were based on allegations from six women. Brand pleaded not guilty to every count and denied all of the allegations throughout the trial, which began with jury selection on October 12, Variety reported.
It isn't over
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said the force's investigation into rape allegations made by two other women "remains ongoing," ABC News (Australia) reported. No charges have been brought in that investigation.
How we got here
The allegations first went public in September 2023, in a joint investigation by The Sunday Times, The Times and Channel 4's Dispatches. At the time, Brand was a former BBC and Channel 4 presenter turned online commentator with millions of followers. Hollywood audiences know him from Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Get Him to the Greek, and from his brief marriage to Katy Perry. Coverage of the verdict also came from CNN and Al Jazeera.
Newswire Hollywood will be in the story Monday when the sentence comes down.
- Verdict
- Guilty: 1 count of rape, 3 counts of sexual assault
- Cleared
- 2 counts of rape, 1 count of attempted indecent assault
- Court
- Southwark Crown Court, London
- Judge
- Joel Bennathan
- Status
- Bail revoked; remanded in custody
- Sentencing
- Monday, November 9, 2026
- Brand's position
- Pleaded not guilty to all seven charges; denied all allegations
- Still open
- Met Police investigation into allegations from two more women; no charges
Sources: Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter, CNN, Al Jazeera, ABC News (Australia) and Variety. Links are in the story where available. Reported independently by Newswire Hollywood in our own words.