Russell Brand Trial Hears First Complainant Detail Alleged 1999 Hotel Rape

The first woman to accuse Russell Brand of rape told a London court he made her take photographs of him while he was half-naked in her hotel room before he attacked her.

Her account was played to the jury on the second day of Brand's criminal trial at Southwark Crown Court in London, according to Variety. The jury of eight men and four women watched video of the woman's police interview.

The woman alleges Brand raped her in her hotel room during the 1999 Labour Party conference in Bournemouth. She said she had met him at a cabaret event where he was performing at the conference.

In the recorded interview, she alleged that Brand followed her to her room and was half-naked when she let him in. She said he forced her to take photos of him before the alleged rape took place.

She said she told no one about what she says happened because she felt shame. She said she first spoke about it to a friend in 2023, more than two decades later.

She said watching Channel 4's 2023 "Dispatches" programme about Brand prompted her to go to the police. The judge, Mr Justice Bennathan, told jurors that the claims made in that programme have never been tested in any court. He ruled the documentary will not be shown to the jury.

Prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones said in her opening statement that Brand was ruthless and calculated and described him as a sexual predator. Brand, 51, has pleaded not guilty and denies all of the allegations against him.

He is charged with three counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault and one count of indecent assault relating to six women over the period from 1999 to 2009. The six complainants have never met each other, according to the BBC.

The court has also heard the outline of a second allegation. A woman who worked at MTV in 2001 claims Brand grabbed her and tried to pull her into a toilet.

The charges now before the court follow a longer investigation. The BBC reported in December 2025 that prosecutors had charged Brand with two further offences, including one count of rape, in addition to earlier counts.

In a separate podcast interview in April 2026, reported by The Guardian, Brand said he had consensual but "exploitative" sex with a 16-year-old girl when he was 30 and at the height of his fame. That admission does not form part of the criminal charges described in court.

The trial is continuing. The prosecution is expected to call further evidence from the remaining complainants in the coming days.