Russell Brand Mouthed “I’m Good” as He Was Led Off to the Cells — Then Police Revealed It May Not Be Over

Just before he stepped into the glass dock at Southwark Crown Court on Thursday afternoon, Russell Brand turned to his wife, Laura Gallacher, and told her, “I love you.”

Then he stood still and waited. The courtroom was “incredibly quiet,” BBC reporter Sima Kotecha wrote from inside. Brand looked up at the ceiling a moment before the jury foreman began to speak. When the word “guilty” came on the rape count, he closed his eyes. Up in the public gallery, his wife was in tears as a woman beside her held her hand tightly.

A little over two hours later, the Hollywood star and ex-husband of Katy Perry was in the back of a prison van. Outside, someone in the crowd shouted, “Hold on to Jesus, Russell.”

By then, Brand had told his lawyers he was fine. But the judge had refused the one thing he asked for before Monday’s sentencing — and London police had revealed that his time in court may not be over.

Four Guilty Verdicts in a Silent Courtroom

The jury of eight men and four women deliberated for about eight and a half hours before convicting Brand, 51, of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault, according to CNN and the Associated Press. They cleared him of two other rape charges and one count of attempted indecent assault.

The rape involved a 21-year-old fan, CNN reported. She met Brand after one of his shows at the Hammersmith Apollo in west London in 2009. Days later, at his home in Hampstead, consensual sex turned into rape, the jury found. “He hurt me and harmed me and when I asked him to stop he didn’t,” she told the court, according to the BBC. She told the court she turned to alcohol afterward, CNN reported.

The three other convictions involved three more women:

• In 2004, at a birthday party in a bar in London’s Soho, Brand grabbed a woman’s breasts less than a minute after they started chatting, the BBC reported.
• In 2004 or 2005, at the Choice FM radio studios in London, he grabbed a woman’s face, kissed her and touched her breasts and bottom.
• In 2009, while he was recording a Channel 4 project, members of his entourage pressured a young staffer into giving him a massage, the Evening Standard reported. He then pressed his face into her groin. “I was so repulsed by the situation,” she told the jury.

None of the women knew each other, prosecutors said. Each came forward on her own after a 2023 investigation by The Times, The Sunday Times and Channel 4’s “Dispatches” aired allegations against him, according to NBC News.

The Comedian Who Bragged Out Loud

For years, Brand built his act on his own excesses. He became a household name in Britain in the early 2000s, then broke into Hollywood with “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and “Get Him to the Greek.” In 2010 he married Perry in a lavish ceremony in India. They divorced in 2012.

Then came the reinvention. He moved to Florida, became a born-again Christian and built a following of more than 6.6 million YouTube subscribers with videos on wellness, faith and politics, CNN reported. When the trial opened in October, he told photographers he felt “blessed” and was “hopeful that this process will lead to good outcomes for everybody involved,” NBC News reported. “That’s my prayer.”

Prosecutors painted a very different picture. Prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones called him “calculating” and “manipulative,” and told jurors that to Brand, “women were simply a means to an end.” Prosecutors also told the jury he had been pursuing a goal of sex with 5,000 women, CNN reported.

On the witness stand, Brand admitted some of it. “As I became more successful and famous I was very comfortable allowing that to facilitate sexual access, which I agree was wrong,” he testified, according to NBC News. But, he added, “Consent is fundamental, essential, necessary and indeed more important than sex itself.”

The jury convicted him on four of the seven charges.

The Last Request the Judge Refused

Judge Joel Bennathan left no doubt about what comes next. “You’ve been convicted of a number of offences including rape,” he told Brand. “The consequence of that is inevitably a significant custodial term.” In Britain, the maximum sentence for rape is life in prison, NBC News noted.

Brand’s barrister, Ian Winter KC, then asked for one last weekend of freedom — an “act of humanity,” he called it, so the father of three could say goodbye to his young children, the Evening Standard reported.

The judge said no. “The temptation to avoid coming back to court to receive that sentence will be overwhelming,” he said, according to Variety.

“I regret the hardship caused to the children, of course,” Bennathan said, according to the AP. “But the hardship has been caused by serious criminal offending by their father.”

Brand answered with a loud “Yes, my Lord.” As he was led down to the cells, he gave his lawyers a thumbs-up and repeated, “I’m good, I’m good, I’m good.”

Two More Women — and a Fight Outside the Courtroom

Then came news that couldn’t be reported while the jury was out. London’s Metropolitan Police confirmed it is investigating rape allegations from two more women. Brand has already been questioned under caution, and files on both complaints have gone to prosecutors, the BBC reported.

Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy, who led the investigation, believes more women may now come forward. “Brand used his influence, status and fame to exploit and sexually offend against women,” he said. “As his profile grew, so too did his sense of entitlement. I hope this conviction sends a clear message that no one is above the law, no matter how famous or powerful they may be.”

Not everyone accepted the verdict. As Winter left the courtroom, he turned on Sunday Times journalist Rosamund Urwin, The Independent reported. “I hope you are pleased with yourself,” he said. When she replied that she was pleased justice had been done, he shot back, “Well, it wasn’t. You f***ed it.” Then he added, “Congratulations.”

Brand’s father, Ron, told the BBC he was “bemused and shocked.” “I just didn’t expect this — it’s wrong,” he said. “It’s devastating.”

His publisher, Pan Macmillan, is already pulling his books from sale, The Independent reported.

“I’m Good”

Brand is now in custody. On Monday, Nov. 9, he goes back to Southwark Crown Court to learn how many years he will spend behind bars.

In a statement, senior prosecutor David Roberts of the Crown Prosecution Service addressed the women directly. “I would like to thank all the women in this case for their courage in coming forward and seeing this sexual abuser brought to justice,” he said.

They will stay anonymous for life. The man who kept repeating “I’m good” on his way down to the cells is about to find out how long he will be gone.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, you can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 or chat online at rainn.org.