In September 2023, a joint investigation by Channel 4 and The Sunday Times surfaced sexual assault allegations against Brand from multiple women. The Metropolitan Police charged him in April 2025 with five counts involving four women. In December 2025, two additional charges were added involving two more women, bringing the total to seven counts against six women.
The charges include three counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault, and one count of indecent assault, allegedly committed between 1999 and 2009. Allegations include raping a woman at the Labour Party conference, dragging a TV worker into a toilet, and assaulting a woman during Big Brother's Big Mouth.
Brand has pleaded not guilty to all charges. The trial was pushed from June to October 12, 2026 to accommodate the merged cases. Brand recently sold his Oxfordshire pub ahead of the trial. He also faces a separate civil lawsuit in New York under the Adult Survivors Act.
- 01Three counts of rape involving separate victims between 1999 and 2009.
- 02Three counts of sexual assault and one count of indecent assault involving additional victims.
- 03Brand denies all charges and says he never engaged in non-consensual activity.
- 04Also faces a civil sexual assault lawsuit in New York from the set of the film Arthur (2010).
One of the most significant UK celebrity criminal trials in years. It tests how courts handle historical sexual assault allegations surfaced through journalism. The case has triggered institutional self-examination at the BBC and Channel 4 over past failures to address complaints. If convicted of rape, Brand faces up to life imprisonment.