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Russell Brand denies all charges at Southwark trial

By Drooid · Oct 29, 2026 · How we work

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Summary

Russell Brand denied all charges while testifying at Southwark Crown Court in London.
He faces three counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault, and one count of attempted indecent assault.
On Oct. 27 Justice Bennathan dismissed the indecent assault charge, citing insufficient evidence for the 2001 MTV incident.
Prosecutors presented testimony from six women alleging incidents spanning 1999 to 2009.

History

After the 1995 O.J. Simpson murder trial—where prosecutor Marcia Clark and defense star Johnnie Cochran faced a televised, 126-witness case that ended in a not-guilty verdict on October 3—the media turned the courtroom into a national spectacle. That precedent of intense coverage informs the 2024 Russell Brand hearing before Justice Bennathan, where celebrity accountability is again being debated under intense public scrutiny.

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After the 1995 O.J. Simpson murder trial—where prosecutor Marcia Clark and defense star Johnnie Cochran faced a televised, 126-witness case that ended in a not-guilty verdict on October 3—the media turned the courtroom into a national spectacle. That precedent of intense coverage informs the 2024 Russell Brand hearing before Justice Bennathan, where celebrity accountability is again being debated under intense public scrutiny.

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