All of Russell Brand’s worst scandals from his rise to fame earlier than rape conviction
The disgraced comic, who has never been a stranger to controversy, was told to expect a lengthy jail term by the trial judge after a jury found him guilty of rape and sexual assault
Brand at the height of his fame(Image: AFP/Getty Images)
Russell Brand was whisked away from court in a prison van on Thursday to be held on remand ahead of sentencing next week. It marks the completion of his dramatic fall from grace that has taken him from from Hollywood to facing hard time.
The disgraced comic, 51, was told to expect a lengthy jail term by the trial judge after a jury found him guilty of rape and sexual assault. Brand has never been a stranger to controversy and recently pivoted to sharing conspiracies online.
He even said in his own memoir that he followed a girl 200 miles and pestered her for sex when they were classmates at theatre school. Here, your Daily Star takes a look at the timeline of the shamed star’s scandals.
Brand told of his sexual desires in his memoir(Image: Getty Images)
Brand’s first major controversy came in 2001 when he turned up for work dressed as Osama Bin Laden – the day after the 9/11 terror attacks. He was sacked as an MTV presenter.
In 2006, then aged 30, Brand had a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old schoolgirl who told Dispatches and the Times he had forced his penis down her throat because he wanted to see if it would make her mascara run.
Earlier this year, Brand admitted to having an “exploitative” relationship with a 16-year-old, but said it was consensual.
Brand and Ross left vulgar voicemails on the phone of Andrew Sachs(Image: BBC)
In 2007, he published his memoir, My Booky Wook in which he reveals his manager sent him to a sex addiction clinic in Philadelphia in 2005 because his “carnal overindulgences” were causing “professional difficulties.”
A year later, he was in hot bother when he and guest Jonathan Ross left voicemail messages for beloved actor Andrew Sachs live on the radio, boasting how Brand had slept with his granddaughter.
The messages, which were broadcast in full on BBC Radio 2, shocked the nation and even drew criticism from then-PM Gordon Brown. Brand regularly made sexual comments about the newsreader on his weekly radio show.
Brand’s behaviour was an open secret on the comedy circuit(Image: PA)
He told her he planned to get underneath her desk and “unleash hell on her thighs”. When he was told the newsreader was upset, he improvised a song about her reading the bulletins in her underwear.
In one episode, he made a revealing joke about how he had just followed a woman into a toilet at a BBC studio and exposed his penis to her. Before another, he urinated into a bottle in front of guests and production staff then laughed about it on air.
When he secured an interview with Jimmy Savile, he offered to send his female assistant to him naked as a token of his appreciation.
Brand found fame as a comedian then an actor(Image: PA)
Despite these growing scandals, Brand relocated to Hollywood where he found fame as an actor. In February 2009, he performed a sold-out tour of the UK. His trial heard it was during this tour he raped a fan he met after a gig.
During the 2010s, Brand began delving into politics and current affairs and returned to the UK as something of a social commentator and began hosting a YouTube series called “The Trews”.
Brand at court with his wife(Image: Ian Vogler / Daily Mirror)
As his mainstream fame began to wane, Brand began spouting conspiracy theories about the Covid pandemic and sharing misinformation about the War in Ukraine.
In 2023 came his inevitable pivot to religion and right-wing politics as he became a ‘born again Christian’ just around the time a major newspaper investigation exposed allegations of sexual assault and rape.
His sudden conversion to Christianity saw embraced by the American alt-right. He was invited to Donald Trump’s second inauguration and forged friendships with the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk and the former Fox News presenter Tucker Carlson.
Brand in the dock(Image: Elizabeth Cook/Press Association)
Earlier this year, he invited far-right activist Tommy Robinson onto his podcast and even during his trial was accused of risking contempt of court by his internet broadcasts discussing the court case.
On November 5, 2026, Brand was convicted of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault. A judge has told him to expect to serve significant jail time
