Former assistant tells court Russell Brand's behaviour was on "another level"

A former personal assistant to the comedian Russell Brand told a London court on Monday that he had an "insane sexual appetite" and that his bad behaviour was on "another level" than that of other celebrities. The evidence was heard at Southwark Crown Court, where Brand is on trial and the case is now in its third week.

Brand, who is 51, faces three charges of rape, three of sexual assault and one of indecent assault. The charges involve six women, and the alleged offences span a period of 10 years beginning in 1999. Brand denies all the charges against him.

The assistant, Helen Berger, worked for Brand from June 2006 to February 2007. Statements from prosecution witnesses were also read to the court on Monday. In a May 2024 police statement, Berger said she never saw Brand do anything against the law, but that she did see him treat women poorly.

In court, Berger described several incidents. She alleged that she had to stop Brand's mother and his girlfriend from walking in on him having sex in his dressing room. She also said she overheard Brand receiving oral sex in a women's toilet cubicle, and that she recognised his cowboy boots. While he was recording an MTV show, she alleged, he told her to ask women for their telephone numbers, which she said made her uncomfortable. She also alleged that he was "sleeping with people day and night."

Earlier in the trial, a woman who alleges that Brand raped her more than 25 years ago testified to jurors on October 15. On October 16, another woman told the court that he tried to drag her into toilets. Brand is also accused of assaulting a woman in the lavatory of a London bar in 2004, according to The Telegraph.

Prosecutors have described the comedian in ways that go to the heart of the case. On October 14, Reuters reported that UK prosecutors called him a "ruthless sexual predator" and said he ignored women's protests. Jury selection took place on October 12.

The allegations against Brand followed a joint investigation by The Sunday Times, The Times and Channel 4 Dispatches. Four women, one of whom was 16 at the time, accused him of rape, sexual assault and abuse in that 2023 investigation.