Additional women have stepped forward with allegations against Russell Brand, the disgraced entertainer recently jailed for rape and sexual assault. In interviews with The Times and a new Netflix documentary, six more women have shared accounts of sexual misconduct and predatory behavior. These allegations had been withheld from publication until the conclusion of Brand's criminal trial, which ended earlier this week with his conviction on one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault.
Netflix Documentary Features Disturbing Testimonies
The Netflix documentary, titled Russell Brand: Open Secret, premiered on Friday and includes harrowing interviews with several women. One woman, identified only as Emily, described an incident during a relationship with Brand when she was in her twenties. She alleged that he refused to wear a condom during sex and ignored her repeated pleas to stop.
"I literally begged him," Emily said. "I tried to kick him off, I tried to draw my knees back, to kick him in his belly, but he was too strong for me." She claimed Brand pinned her hands behind her head and forced himself on her. "When it happens you just feel like, is this... is this rape? Because I'm with this guy," she said. "I know I said 'No', but you question yourself and you think, did I do something wrong?"
Emily said she left as quickly as she could and confided in a friend, but at the time, "women felt shamed" and she felt "completely violated and unseen and unheard."
Former Girlfriend Details Alleged Assault and Controlling Behavior
Another ex-girlfriend, Jordan Martin, alleged in the documentary that Brand sexually assaulted her and smashed her phone in a hotel after she spoke to an ex to arrange collecting her belongings. "He snatched my phone out of my hand and broke it apart into pieces," she said. Brand then followed her into another room and without a word put his hand down her jeans and inserted a finger, she claimed.
Martin also described Brand as jealous and controlling, saying he made her brush her teeth until her gums bled. "He wanted me to taste anonymous," she said. "And so he was asking me to brush my teeth, but it just was never enough. And so he's standing over me and I'm brushing and I'm brushing, and then I'm seeing my teeth bleeding."
The Times and Sunday Times reported that at least five sexual partners said Brand forced them to brush their teeth, including the fifth complainant in the trial, whom he was convicted of raping in 2009.
Additional Allegations of Non-Consensual Acts
Among the new claims reported by The Times is one from a woman referred to as Alex, who said she asked Brand to stop having sex after noticing he wasn't using a condom. "I said, 'No, stop', and I started to sort of try and move. And... that wasn't happening," she said. When he continued, she decided not to fight because "who knows what he could do?" Alex said Brand later apologized in person and by text message. "I justified it in my head by saying to myself, at least he admitted it," she told The Times.
A woman called Vicky also claimed she asked him to stop twice after they started having sex. "My body wasn't ready for this and it was painful," she remembered. "An uneasy wave hits me and I'm scared. And I say, 'It's painful' and he doesn't stop. And then it gets worse and it's really painful. And I say 'Stop' and he doesn't stop." She added that it felt like he "just wasn't present." She claimed he said afterwards: "Tonight was consensual. Nobody did anything they didn't want to do."
Another woman named Zoe said Brand was "annoyed" after she turned up late to his hotel. "He basically sort of just grabbed me and manhandled me around a little bit and he put his hand on my throat," she told The Times. "And then he shoved his other hand down my trousers and penetrated me with his finger. I didn't resist. I just sort of let it happen."
Brand Sentenced to Prison
On Monday, Brand was sentenced to 10 years and six months in prison following his trial. He is expected to serve seven years. He denied the charges and was acquitted on two further rape charges and one count of attempted indecent assault. He is currently being held at HMP Wandsworth. BBC News has reached out to his legal representatives for a response to the latest allegations.
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