Bear Grylls has broken his silence on Russell Brand’s guilty verdict in his rape trial, two years after the TV adventurer baptised him in the River Thames.
In 2024, Brand revealed that he had been baptised in the ceremony to “leave the past behind”, mere months after the broadcast of a Channel 4 Dispatches documentary which – in tandem with a Sunday Times investigation – highlighted accusations by four women of rape, sexual assault and abuse at the height of Brand’s fame. At the time, Brand strongly denied all accusations, which were not the same claims that he was on trial for.
Brand published a photo to his social media depicting Grylls baptising him, captioning the image: “Me, Bear Grylls, The River Thames and of course, The Holy Spirit.”
Grylls later defended his participation in the baptism by saying he lives by the mantra “What would Jesus do?” and believed it was necessary in the wake of what he called Brand’s “tough time”.
“Faith and spiritual moments in our lives are really personal,” he explained. “But it is a privilege to stand beside anyone when they express a humble need for forgiveness and strength from above.”
Today (6 November), in the wake of Brand being found guilty of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault against four women following a four-week trial, Grylls has addressed his relationship with the disgraced comedian.
“Brand’s faith seemed genuine to me at the time when I was a guest at his private baptism,” he wrote on X. “I have attended a few now. Even visiting in prisons with people who have committed terrible crimes. It’s part of our calling as men and women of faith, to love and serve anyone. It is the sick that need healing.”
Grylls continued: “Judgement is for the courts and God… I wouldn’t want to ever discourage someone’s coming to faith. It is right that justice has now been served. I can’t imagine how hard this time has been for the victims, the heroes of the day.”
Brand’s faith seemed genuine to me at the time when I was a guest at his private baptism.
— Bear Grylls OBE (@BearGrylls) November 6, 2026
I have attended a few now. Even visiting in prisons with people who have committed terrible crimes. It's part of our calling as men and women of faith, to love and serve anyone. It is the…
Grylls and Brand struck up a friendship when the comedian appeared on his reality show Running Wild. Brand later claimed to have found God, and published a self-help book about his newfound faith titled How to Become a Christian in Seven Days.
It drew miserable reviews from book critics, with The Telegraph declaring it “an offence against God”, and The i claiming it to be “a fountain of alt-right ideology, an embarrassing display of hubris … and a manipulation of respectable Christian values for personal gain”.
At Brand’s rape trial, it was heard that the star treated women as “disposable” and “amusements” to fill his voracious sexual appetite in a string of attacks between 2004 and 2009, by which time he had achieved “staggering fame”.
He is currently under investigation for two more alleged rapes, including of a 16-year-old schoolgirl which was featured in the Dispatches documentary, and further victims could still come forward, police have warned following his conviction.
The Brand verdict has been met with celebration by many in the comedy world, with Katy Brand – who spoke out on Brand’s behaviour and his enablers in the entertainment industry – declaring on social media that “it is hard to convey how all powerful this piece of s*** was for a while”.
She and a number of other stars bravely called out Brand while he was still at the peak of his powers, with comedian Katherine Ryan – who was legally gagged from calling him out by name for years – saying on her podcast today that she feels “a level of relief, but grief alongside relief” over the verdict.
“It really made me feel just quite dysregulated again, caught off-guard, emotional, in awe of the survivors who also had nothing to gain,” she explained. “They came forward despite Russell Brand having fame, power, money, and a legion of fans ready to attack them. I will never be someone who like, dances on graves. There has been some justice done today.”
Brand was remanded in custody on Thursday and will face sentencing on Monday 9 November.
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