Russell Brand’s former flatmate Mark Pinheiro, who gave evidence at the court case, claims he witnessed alleged incidents involving the convicted comedian and is urging other potential victims to come forward, saying he will back them up
Russell Brand’s ex-flatmate claims he witnessed the sex offender carry out additional crimes and is urging other possible victims to speak out. Mark Pinheiro, a former friend who became the first witness to testify at the shamed comedian’s trial, says he’s prepared to support women who come forward.
He alleges he once witnessed Brand, currently serving 10 and a half years for rape and sexual assaults, attempt to force a woman into his bedroom against her wishes.
Mark, who shared accommodation with Brand in London for 16 months from 1999, appealed to victims: “If you’re out there and you’re listening and you want to come forward, do come forward and I will support you. I’ll say it now as I said it back then, ‘I saw what happened’. It’s not a he-said she-said argument… there was a third party to bear witness.”
Mark discusses the alleged assault he witnessed in new Netflix documentary, Russell Brand: Open Secret. He recalls hearing a girl shouting “Let go of me”, and “wrestling herself away from him [Brand]”.
He alleges: “I open up my door, and I see Russell basically holding on to the girl with both of his hands, gripping hold of her arm trying to pull her back in like a tug of war. And she’s wrestling herself away from him, and then as I switch the light on, the light comes on and he lets go. There’s so many incidents that I can remember.”
Mark initially encountered Brand in December 1998 and the pair worked together in a cabaret troupe. Brand took up residence with him from late 1999 through to early 2001.
Their friendship continued and Mark even shared multiple Christmas celebrations with Brand and his devoted mother Barbara, who brought up the comedian when dad Ron walked out.
Their friendship waned around 2010 when Brand began dating pop sensation Katy Perry, with Mark’s final encounter occurring during his Messiah Complex tour in 2015.
He recalls: “I didn’t speak to him, but was backstage and I got to witness a lot of his antics… seeing a lot of girls who are taking the invite to come back to stage to meet him and were queueing up and patiently waiting their turn. Mark says Brand made no attempt to hide what he was doing and accused his entourage of enabling his behaviour.
Mark claims Brand made no effort to conceal what he was doing and criticised those around him for enabling his conduct.
He said: “They were happy to tolerate it and that’s as far back as 10 years ago. I wasn’t the only person who saw things.I was kind of disappointed more people didn’t come forward.”
On November 9 Judge Mr Justice Joel Bennathan handed down sentences to Brand for attacks on four women; a fan he raped at his London residence, another he groped in a Soho bar, and two staff members he assaulted at Choice FM and Channel 4.
The assaults occurred between 2004 and 2009, during the peak of his celebrity. Brand, 51, was acquitted of raping a woman at a Bournemouth hotel in 1999 during the Labour Party conference, where he had been performing in a cabaret act.
Throughout his trial, it emerged that his wife Laura Gallacher, 39, with whom he shares three children aged between three and 10, has stood firmly by his side.
Mark had told the jury at Southwark crown court Brand had bragged about being a ladies’ man who wanted to bed 5,000 women.
He recounted how the controversial star frequently slept with as many as three women a week at the flat. Mark believes Brand to be a narcissist who struggles with several other disorders, including sex addiction and a messiah complex.
He said: “He enjoys manipulating people to do what he wants them to do for him and he just enjoys it. And it’s a skill perfected and mastered.
“I don’t know of any time where Russell’s actually kind of honoured his word. I don’t think there’s any doubt that he’s a narcissist. I’ve seen the nasty side of Russell, somebody who’s in denial and who would say, ‘oh, you know, I despise violence’ or whatever, but he could snap”.
At least six further alleged victims have come forward since Brand’s sentencing, with prosecutors now weighing up additional charges. Several of these cases are thought to stem from his time hosting Channel 4’s Big Brother’s Big Mouth in 2006.