Prosecutor says Russell Brand's accusers had nothing to gain

Six women who accuse Russell Brand of sexual offences had nothing to gain from coming forward, a prosecutor told jurors on Friday. In her closing speech at Southwark Crown Court in London, Riel Karmy-Jones KC said the women had not sought fame or publicity and do not know one another, according to The Guardian.

Brand, 51, faces seven offences, including rape and sexual assault, and denies all the charges. The alleged offences span a period of 10 years beginning in 1999. He faces three counts of rape and three of sexual assault, plus a charge that was changed on Tuesday from indecent assault to attempted indecent assault. The Crown Prosecution Service authorised the charges, first in April 2025, when it approved two counts of rape, one of indecent assault and two of sexual assault. It authorised further charges in December 2025, according to CPS announcements (CPS, April 2025; CPS, December 2025).

Karmy-Jones told the jury that the complainants had not taken part in a documentary and had not made claims for compensation. The prosecution argued that media reporting had not compelled the women to complain. It also argued that the 2023 Dispatches documentary about Brand had not caused them to invent or reimagine encounters. She said the women had been "haunted" for years by the alleged offences, according to BBC News.

One complainant, then in her early 20s, alleged that Brand anally raped her at his London townhouse. She said they had met at the Hammersmith Apollo in 2009.

Brand gave evidence in court on Wednesday, according to Reuters. He told the trial that he had misused his position and fame, but that "consent is more important than sex itself," according to The Guardian.

Before the closing speech, Mr Justice Bennathan gave the jury legal directions, the judge's instructions on the law, on Friday.