Comedian, actor, guru, rapist: Russell Brand’s path to prison

Russell Brand was in his element: on stage in front of an adoring crowd.It was June 2013, and the comedian and actor was at the height of his fame a year after his divorce from pop star Katy Perry, with a slew of Hollywood comedies under his belt.Brand was interviewed for a podcast with fellow comic Richard Herring, recorded in front of an audience at Leicester Square Theatre in London.Katy Perry and Russell Brand married 2010 after meeting when she had a cameo in Brand's movie Get Him to the Greek. (Mario Anzuoni : Reuters)The episode description joked that the host struggled to decide what to ask ahead of the show: "What do you ask the man who has already admitted everything?"Mr Herring didn't need to worry."I raped someone once," Brand announced, kicking back and crossing his legs as the crowd laughed.But 14 years later, he sat behind a glass box in a London courtroom and denied he was a rapist.Brand was found not guilty on two other counts of rape and one count of attempted indecent assault. (PA: Elizabeth Cook via AP)After a four-week trial, Brand was convicted of one charge of rape and three of sexual assault but acquitted on two charges of rape and one of attempted indecent assault.On Monday, London time, a judge sentenced him to 10-and-a-half years' jail.As he left the court in a prison van, Brand's journey from Hollywood's A-list to the UK's sex offender registry was complete.A prison van carrying Brand arrives at Southwark Crown Court on the day of his sentencing. (Reuters: Corey Rudy)The rise of Russell's brandOver a career spanning 25 years, Brand moved from comedian and actor to political activist, then wellness guru, anti-vaxxer and finally, alt-right Christian influencer.He started out as a stand-up comedian in the late 1990s, then went on to present music and television programs.Brand's big break came in the mid-noughties when he started hosting a Big Brother UK spin-off show, called Big Brother's Big Mouth.By 2007, the comedian was a household name in Britain.He hosted a radio show on BBC Radio 2 and became a bestselling author with his memoir, My Booky Wook: A Memoir of Sex, Drugs and Stand-Up.The book detailed encounters with women that included "smashing" a sex worker's phone against the wall and using lies, "tears and blackmail" to manipulate a woman into sex."What kind of man was I? Treating women in this way? If this is what I'm telling you, can you imagine what's being left out?" Brand wrote.Brand was found to have raped a young fan he met after his Scandalous show at the Hammersmith Apollo in 2009. (Reuters: Suzanne Plunkett)Brand's obsession with sex was key to his notoriety.During his Scandalous stand-up show in 2009, Brand described his stream of consciousness in the lead-up to meeting Queen Elizabeth II: "In the back of my mind, I'm thinking grab her f*****g t*ts".The joke was used in the show's advertising trailer.There were controversies, such as the "Sachsgate" scandal in 2008. Brand and his radio show co-host Jonathan Ross left obscene prank messages on actor Andrew Sachs's answering machine, which led to Brand resigning from the BBC.Still, his star continued to rise.That same year, he was awarded the Sun newspaper's "Shagger of the Year" for the third time.When Brand married US pop star Katy Perry in October 2010, he was catapulted into another level of fame.Brand texted her to say he wanted a divorce, moments before she walked on stage to perform at a New Year's Eve concert in 2011.By that stage he was established in Hollywood's comedy scene, appearing in Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008) and Get Him to the Greek (2010).But over the next few years he drifted further from the mainstream.Actor Jonah Hill, Russell Brand and rapper Diddy present at the 2010 MTV Movie Awards. (Reuters: Mario Anzuoni)Career shift and allegationsBy the end of 2013, Brand's comedy got more political, and by 2014 he had launched his first YouTube show.He gained a new kind of notoriety, encouraging people not to vote.Following his second marriage to British model Laura Gallacher in 2017, Brand moved into podcasts.He became increasingly associated with COVID scepticism and alternative-media politics.In September 2023, The Sunday Times and Channel 4's Dispatches published an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct from several women dating back to his early career.Brand denied them.YouTube suspended his monetisation, while several broadcasters and tour organisers cut ties.Brand was charged with rape and sexual offences related to separate women — who did not appear in the documentary — in April 2025, then convicted in November 2026.During sentencing, Judge Joel Bennathan told Southwark Crown Court that the entertainer-turned-conspiracist was a "sexual predator" who had shown "staggering arrogance".These two pictures of Russell Brand in 1999 were tendered as evidence during his criminal trial in London in 2026. (Supplied: Metropolitan Police)Christianity and convictionA few months after the allegations were aired, in April 2024, Brand converted to Christianity and was baptised by famous survivalist Bear Grylls in the Thames.After Brand's conviction, Grylls posted a statement online saying Brand's faith "seemed genuine to me at the time" and that judgement was for "the courts and God".Six months before his conviction, Brand embarked on a round of interviews with mostly right-wing Youtubers when his most recent book was released, titled "How to Become a Christian in Seven Days* *May Take 50 Years of Sin and Serious F*ck Ups to Get Started".US political commentator and former Fox News host Megyn Kelly asked Brand what he would do if it was "God's plan" for him to go to prison."If it's God's plan, then there's no point resisting it, is there?" Brand replied.