Comedian Russell Brand charged with rape and sexual assault in UK

Russell Brand is facing multiple sexual misconduct charges, including rape and sexual assault, following an investigation by London's Metropolitan Police. 

The "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" actor and comedian — who frequently weighs in on politics on his "Stay Free" podcast — has been charged with two counts of rape, one count of indecent assault and two counts of sexual assault, the Crown Prosecution Service said in a statement on Friday.

“We carefully reviewed the evidence after a police investigation into allegations made following the broadcast of a Channel 4 documentary in September 2023," the Crown Prosecution Service's Jaswant Narwal said.

“These relate to reported non-recent offences between 1999 and 2005, involving four women," the statement said.

According to London Metropolitan Police, in 1999, Brand raped a woman in the Bournemouth area, indecently assaulted a woman in 2001 in the Westminster area of London, orally raped and sexually assaulted a woman in 2004 and sexually assaulted a woman between 2004 and 2005. 

“The women who have made reports continue to receive support from specially trained officers," Andy Furphy, who is the leading the London Metropolitan Police's investigation, said. 

The charges are related to four separate women, police said. 

“The Met's investigation remains open and detectives ask anyone who has been affected by this case, or anyone who has any information, to come forward and speak with police," Furphy said. 

Several of Britain's leading politicians had urged police to investigate sexual assault allegations against the 50-year-old English entertainer back in 2023, following the release of the Channel 4 documentary. Brand had denied the accusations made by four women in the documentary, saying at the time that all of his relationships were “always consensual.”

Brand is due to appear in court on May 2.