Former MTV worker says Russell Brand tried to pull her into toilet
A woman who worked at MTV testified Friday at Russell Brand's trial that he grabbed her arm in 2001 and tried to pull her into a toilet, The Guardian and the BBC reported. She called him a "wild-eyed maniac." Brand, 51, denies all seven charges, which involve six women.
A former MTV worker testified Friday at Russell Brand's trial in London that he grabbed her arm and tried to pull her into a men's toilet in 2001, The Guardian and the BBC reported. Brand is accused of indecently assaulting her, The Guardian reported.
The woman, who gave evidence from behind a screen at Southwark Crown Court, said she met Brand at MTV and they joked about his "I Am Spartacus" T-shirt, The Guardian and the BBC reported. She offered to show him the way to the toilets, The Guardian and the BBC reported. She said his "demeanour changed" at the door, the BBC reported. "He grabbed my forearm and he was leaning into the door," she said, according to The Guardian.
She said Brand went from friendly to a "wild-eyed maniac trying to pull me into the toilet," The Guardian and the BBC reported. She said she pulled herself free from his grip, and that the encounter lasted about 20 seconds, The Guardian and the BBC reported. She said she did not report it at the time because she was scared, and told two colleagues instead, The Guardian and the BBC reported. She went to police in 2023 after a TV documentary accused Brand of sexual misconduct, The Guardian and the BBC reported.
Brand's barrister, Ian Winter, suggested she had changed her view of the incident after the documentary, The Guardian and the BBC reported. Winter called it "a short-lived, very, very minor incident," according to The Guardian. "You don't grip someone to drag them in, that's not consensual," the woman said, according to The Guardian.
Earlier Friday, Andrew Dobson, a former flatmate of Brand's, described him as "a very vibrant character, very egotistical," The Guardian, the BBC and the Evening Standard reported. "I think sex was a huge preoccupation for him," Dobson said, according to The Guardian and the Evening Standard. Dobson's evidence related to the first woman, who testified Thursday that Brand raped her in Bournemouth in 1999, The Guardian and the BBC reported.
Brand, 51, faces three counts of rape, three of sexual assault and one of indecent assault involving six women between 1999 and 2009, and he denies them all, The Guardian and the BBC reported. Arriving at court Friday, Brand said, "I pray for everybody involved," according to the Evening Standard.
What we know: A second woman has testified that Brand assaulted her, and Brand denies all seven charges.
What we don't: When Brand will give evidence, and how long the trial will run.
Where outlets agree The Guardian and the BBC both report that a former MTV worker testified Brand grabbed her arm in 2001 and tried to pull her into a toilet, calling him a "wild-eyed maniac."
Where they differ The outlets cited here report the same key facts so far.