Comedian Russell Brand appears in court on two new rape and sexual assault charges from 2009, adding to five existing charges he denies.
LONDON: Actor and comedian Russell Brand appeared before a UK court on Tuesday facing two new charges of rape and sexual assault.
The 50-year-old was charged in December 2025 over two alleged incidents with separate women in London in 2009.
Brand had already pleaded not guilty in May last year to five original charges, comprising two counts of rape, two of sexual assault and one of indecent assault.
Those charges relate to alleged incidents involving four different women between 1999 and 2005.
Appearing remotely via video-link wearing a partially buttoned pale blue shirt, Brand only spoke to confirm his name and date of birth.
The ex-husband of popstar Katy Perry was granted conditional bail.
He is due to appear again at Southwark Crown Court in south London on February 17 for a pre-trial hearing.
The original charges followed a 2023 investigation by The Sunday Times newspaper and Channel 4 television, which included several allegations of a sexual nature.
A trial on the five original charges is set to begin at Southwark Crown Court in June.
Brand, a former stand-up comedian, gained Hollywood fame in the early 2010s.
He married singer Katy Perry in 2010, with the couple divorcing in 2012.
Once a left-leaning political campaigner, he has rebranded himself as a conservative guru to his millions of social media followers.
In 2024, he said he became a Christian after being baptised in the River Thames.
