The jury at Southwark Crown Court heard Thursday that Russell Brand allegedly told a woman "it's just fun" during a 1999 alleged assault, per The Guardian. Brand, 51, faces rape and sexual assault charges spanning 1999 to 2009 and denies all of them.
Day two of the trial was courtroom television: the jury watched video of the 2023 police interview, and Brand reportedly kept his eyes on the screen for the whole of it. The man who built a career on the premise that every moment is material now has to sit through his worst moment as a witness. The brand does its job: the show does not stop, the lighting just changes.
The allegation the court heard was from 1999, the Labour Party conference in Bournemouth, when the comedian was still unknown. He was half-naked and dancing, the woman told police, and asked her to take his photograph, and told her not to worry because he was mostly naked at home, per the Guardian's account. And during the assault itself he allegedly kept narrating: it's fine, everything's okay, don't worry, it's just fun, it's normal.
The aftermath is the real tell. The court heard that he reportedly acted "like nothing had happened," wrote down his email address, and suggested his mother might want to meet her. That is not a man losing control. That is a man still on the clock.
He denies everything. The trial continues.
YOUR TURN: Is "it's just fun" the worst line in celebrity history, or does it just need a better venue?
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