Russell Brand admitted sex was one of his main motivations for pursuing fame days after he was charged with rape and sexual assault.
Brand, 49, opened up about why he “even bothered becoming famous” in the first place while continuing to deny any nonconsensual sexual encounters.
“It’s difficult not to reflect that indeed, the people participating in this are victims of a type, but not victims of me because I’ve always been open,” he said in a video posted Monday to Rumble. “You can go and watch my stand-up comedy. You can read my book. I couldn’t have been more clear that I was out there having sex with anybody who wanted to.”
“And let me tell you, when you’re a famous guy, people are up for it,” Brand explained. “People are up for it! I’ve got to be honest here. That’s part of the reason I even bothered becoming famous in the first place, because I thought this will be a glorious opportunity for hedonistic adventure. Surely then, my life will mean something. Surely, I can find some value in the comfort of strangers. Surely, I can lose myself in endless pleasure.”
RUSSELL BRAND CHARGED WITH RAPE, SEXUAL ASSAULT
Since becoming a follower of Christ, Brand said he can “recognize that sex is a very, very powerful force.” The “Arthur” star, who has been sober from drugs and alcohol for the past 22.5 years, explained he has “learned a lot” and is “grateful for the opportunity to tell the truth, to participate in a process of reconciliation and healing.”
Brand referenced that the alleged incidents occurred before he became a household name in 2005, before his marriage to Katy Perry and prior to the #MeToo movement. In the video, the comedian seemed to question why the allegations didn’t come out then, claiming that the timing was “pretty extraordinary.”
He went on to discuss how the allegations arose following the actor landing himself “on the radar of the deep state” after talking openly about “corruption in the coronavirus era… how companies like Pfizer and Moderna made record profits… how we have to have an open debate about the causes of war, whether they’re the Middle Eastern wars or wars between Russia and Ukraine.”
Brand also explained that he doesn’t “believe in that statute of limitation stuff.”
“I think if someone committed a crime 20 years ago, 30 years ago… if a crime was committed, the person should be held accountable. Justice. I believe in justice. I believe in integrity. I believe in truth. Why? Because I believe in God. I believe that we’re here to love one another.”
Brand was hit with five counts of rape and sexual assault by London’s Metropolitan Police on Friday. The charges included one count of rape, one count of indecent assault, one count of oral rape and two counts of sexual assault, according to a press release.
The alleged incidents, which took place between 1999 and 2005, were reported by four different women. Brand denied the accusations in a video shared to X on Friday.
According to Brand, he “was a fool before I lived in the light of the Lord. I was a drug addict, a sex addict and an imbecile, but what I never was was a rapist. I’ve never engaged in nonconsensual activity. I pray that you can see that by looking in my eyes.”
“Of course, I’m now going to have the opportunity to defend these charges in court, and I’m incredibly grateful for that,” he added.
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While Brand did experience a period of promiscuity, which he has frequently been open about, he has been married to wife Laura Gallacher since 2017. The couple share three children.
He was also married to pop star Katy Perry from 2010 to 2012.
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Detectives began investigating claims against Brand after multiple women came forward in 2023. The allegations were made public by U.K. media outlets Channel 4 and The Sunday Times.
At the time, the women accused Brand of physical and emotional abuse and bullying, as well as some instances of sexual assault in anonymous complaints.
Brand denied the accusations, stating his relationships were “always consensual.” The “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” star revealed he had been contacted by the media outlets about the allegations before they were made public. “Amidst this litany of astonishing, rather baroque attacks are some very serious allegations that I absolutely refute,” he said at the time.
Brand said the encounters, which he claimed occurred during a “time of promiscuity,” were “always consensual.”
“I was always transparent about that then, almost too transparent, and I am being transparent about it now as well. To see that transparency metastasized into something criminal, that I absolutely deny, makes me question: Is there another agenda at play?”
Fox News Digital’s Emily Trainham contributed to this report.
