Actor and comedian Russell Brand has been spotted in public for the first time since facing rape and sexual assault charges against four women in the UK.
Brand was seen smiling broadly as he appeared with his wife Laura and two of their three children at the upmarket Gasparilla Inn, Florida at around 10.30am on Friday – just moments after the charges against him were announced.
The comedian has been charged with rape, indecent assault, oral rape and two counts of sexual assault for alleged incidents that took place between 1999 and 2005.
According to a source, Brand appears to be on holiday and renting a beachfront villa at the swanky golf resort in Boca Grande, TMZ reported.
He was seen walking towards a golf cart when the photographs were taken.
Brand has since hit out at the serious allegations against him, accusing the government of turning the law into ‘a weapon’, before repeating previous denials that he has ever engaged in non-consensual sex.
In a video posted to X, formerly Twitter on Friday afternoon, Brand thanked fans for their support and said he would fight the claims in court.
‘I was a fool before I lived in the light of the Lord. I was a drug addict, a sex addict and an imbecile,’ he said.
Actor and comedian Russell Brand has been spotted in public for the first time since facing rape and sexual assault charges against four women in the UK
Brand was spotted at the upmarket Gasparilla Inn, Florida at around 10.30am on Friday – just moments after the charges against him were announced
According to a source, Brand appears to be on holiday and renting a beachfront villa at the swanky golf resort in Boca Grande
‘But what I never was, was a rapist. I have never engaged in non-consensual activity – I pray that you can see that by looking in my eyes.’
It comes after the comedian, 49, was accused of rape, sexual assaults and emotional abuse by several women in a joint investigation by The Sunday Times, The Times and Channel 4 Dispatches in September 2023.
The Metropolitan Police have now charged Brand – who lives in Florida – by post and issued a court summons.
Brand is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on May 2.
He is charged with the rape of a woman in 1999 in the Bournemouth area and the oral rape and sexual assault of a woman in 2004 in the Westminster area of London.
Essex-born Brand was also charged with indecently assaulting a woman in 2001 and sexually assaulting another woman between 2004 and 2005. Both offences are alleged to have taken place in Westminster.
The star was married to pop singer Katy Perry from 2010 to 2012 – then in 2017 wed Laura Gallacher, the sister of presenter Kirsty, and the pair have three children.
Brand, who presented a BBC Radio 2 show between 2006 and 2008, left the role after his on-air prank, now known as Sachsgate, when he left a ‘lewd’ voicemail for Fawlty Towers actor Andrew Sachs about his granddaughter. He also presented on Big Brother spin-off shows Big Brother’s Big Mouth and Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack.
In a video posted to X, formerly Twitter on Friday afternoon Russell Brand said he has ‘never been a rapist’ and thanked fans for their support
Brand said at the event in South Carolina on Wednesday: ‘I don’t think it’s very easy to live in a commercial space, to be an entertainer, and remain aligned with the Lord’
Brand married US pop singer Katy Perry from 2010 (pictured that year) but they split in 2012
In the video posted to X on Friday, Brand claimed that the law was being used as a weapon against people who would not tolerate corruption.
After denying his guilt of the sex offences, he added: ‘I want to thank all of you for all your continuing support.
‘I want to let you know that our show will be on Rumble on Monday, thanks for your support there, and of course I’m now going to have the opportunity to defend these charges in court and I’m incredibly grateful for that.
‘In the meantime you lot, stay free and we will be continuing to discuss this matter. Praise the Lord.’
Today, Metropolitan Police Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy said: ‘The women who have made reports continue to receive support from specially trained officers.
‘The Met’s investigation remains open and detectives ask anyone who has been affected by this case, or anyone who has any information, to come forward and speak with police. A dedicated team of investigators is available via email at CIT@met.police.uk.
‘Support is also available by contacting the independent charity, Rape Crisis at 24/7 Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Line.’
Jaswant Narwal of the Crown Prosecution Service said: ‘We have today authorised the Metropolitan Police to charge Russell Brand with a number of sexual offences.
‘We carefully reviewed the evidence after a police investigation into allegations made following the broadcast of a Channel 4 documentary in September 2023.
‘We have concluded that Russell Brand should be charged with offences including rape, sexual assault and indecent assault. These relate to reported non-recent offences between 1999 and 2005, involving four women.
‘He will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court for a first hearing on Friday 2 May 2025. The Crown Prosecution Service reminds everyone that criminal proceedings are active, and the defendant has the right to a fair trial.
‘It is extremely important that there be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings.’
It comes after Brand attended a record reveal party for prominent Christian worship singer Brandon Lake in Charleston, South Carolina on Wednesday.
Appearing on stage together, Brand told Lake that he was ‘so honoured’ to be there and the ‘palpable presence of the Lord is a glory to behold’.
Brand added: ‘Man, I really admire you because I don’t think it’s very easy to live in a commercial space, to be an entertainer, and remain aligned with the Lord.
‘It seems like a place that’s fraught with temptation and spiritual warfare and I think that all of us – particularly someone like me who has come to Christ very recently…
‘I can feel that there is a lot of change and a lot of transformation and I feel blessed to be in a community of people that are able to hold this incredible amount of change.’
Brand is now married to Laura Gallacher, sister of presenter Kirsty. They are pictured in 2018
Russell Brand is seen during the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee in July 2024
In November 2024, the CPS confirmed that detectives from the Metropolitan Police had passed on an evidence file regarding sex offence allegations against Brand.
The actor has previously denied wrongdoing and stated that all his sexual relationships were ‘absolutely always consensual’.
At the time of the alleged offences, Brand was at the height of his stardom, working for BBC Radio 2 and Channel 4 as well as appearing in Hollywood films.
Brand rose to fame with his stand-up performances, making his Edinburgh Festival debut in 2000 before achieving prominence as host of Big Brother’s spin-off show Big Mouth from 2004 for three years.
However, in 2008, he and presenter Jonathan Ross were at the centre of a furore after leaving a series of lewd messages during a prank on BBC Radio 2 on the answerphone of Fawlty Towers actor Andrew Sachs, who died in 2016.
The pre-recorded show caused uproar, prompting Brand and the controller of Radio 2 to quit, Ross to be suspended from broadcasting for three months and a shake-up in the way BBC output was vetted.
Ofcom later fined the BBC £150,000 over the phone calls, describing them as ‘gratuitously offensive, humiliating and demeaning’.
During an interview for BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs in 2013, Brand claimed the scandal, later named Sachsgate, had erupted because he had become caught up in an anti-BBC ‘agenda’.
He reiterated his apology for the upset the incident caused, but suggested it was a ‘dishonest scandal’ because it was hijacked by those motivated by a bias against the corporation.
Brand’s career in the US soared following the Sachsgate scandal, starring in a number of major Hollywood films including Forgetting Sarah Marshall opposite Kristen Bell, and Get Him To The Greek with Jonah Hill, both in which he plays the same anarchic British rock star Aldous Snow.
Russell Brand on stage at the Bitcoin Conference at Music City Center in Nashville in July 2024
He also starred in the re-make of the Dudley Moore comedy Arthur alongside Dame Helen Mirren, Jennifer Garner and Greta Gerwig, the boozy tale of a wayward playboy.
During this time, Brand met US pop star Katy Perry at the MTV Video Music Awards in September 2009 and after enjoying a whirlwind romance, Brand proposed outside the Taj Mahal in India two months later.
The couple were married at a lavish ceremony conducted by a friend of the bride’s family at the Aman-e-Khas luxury resort outside the Ranthambore tiger sanctuary in India in October 2010.
Rumours of cracks in their relationship began to circulate when the pair were pictured spending Christmas apart, and 14 months after the ceremony Brand announced the couple had split.
At the time, Brand said: ‘Sadly, Katy and I are ending our marriage. I’ll always adore her and I know we’ll remain friends.’
In 2015, Brand hit the headlines once again for urging people to vote Labour after repeatedly saying they should not vote.
He later said in an interview with NME: ‘My opinion on voting is evolving,’ while warning that ‘the end of democracy’ could be near.
Brand also sparked controversy on Comic Relief in 2017 by saying ‘f****** hell’ live on air following a technical glitch.
Despite no longer being a prominent figure in mainstream film, television or radio, Brand turned to online platforms and has embraced an anti-establishment narrative in recent years.
Brand’s following current stands at 6.8million subscribers on YouTube, 11.3million followers on X and 4.8million followers on Instagram.
During the pandemic he regularly covered topics such as alleged misinformation surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic and being an outspoken sceptic of the vaccine.
In recent months Brand has talked about his newfound Christian faith, and he was baptised in the River Thames by TV adventurer Bear Grylls in April last year.
In February it was revealed he had moved from his Oxfordshire home to the US, and he is thought to have settled in Florida.
