Russell Brand says 'today is the day for truth and justice' as he is set to give evidence at rape trial

Russell Brand has begun giving evidence at his rape and sexual assault trial after telling reporters that today is the day for “truth and justice” as he arrived at court.The 51-year-old held hands with his wife Laura Gallacher as he exited a black vehicle and entered Southwark Crown Court at London court for the latest day of his trial.Asked by reporters if he wanted to say anything, he said: “Due to the circumstances of the day I think it would be inappropriate for me to say anything other than I’m very grateful that today is the day for truth and justice.”He added that “we are blessed that as of yet we have a system that can accommodate such things”.Brand is on trial accused of raping and sexually assaulting a series of women. He denies the charges.The comedian and actor, wearing a navy suit with a white open neck shirt and a folded tie, entered the witness box on Wednesday and began to give evidence.Read MoreHis trial heard on Tuesday that he told police his “very promiscuous” celebrity lifestyle of kissing fans and sleeping with countless women has now been “unfavourably reframed” into rape and sexual assault claims.Brand was quizzed by police four times between November 2023 and July 2025, and each time insisted he has “never engaged in any non-consensual sexual activity”.In his statements to police, he detailed kissing hundreds of fans while out in public, having sex in toilets, and abruptly ending sexual encounters with women once they had finished, the trial heard.He told detectives that sexual misconduct allegations first made in 2023 following an investigation by The Times, Sunday Times, and Channel 4 are “false”.“I led a very promiscuous life in the past, which I have spent years openly denouncing,” he said.“On 16 September 2023, a defamatory and fictitious documentary was broadcast in conjunction with the publication of two national newspapers containing false anonymised allegations which led to unprecedented media reporting.“Subsequently, both the media and the police publicly invited additional allegations to be made, which resulted in further encounters being invented or reimagined.”