Russell Brand’s Alleged Victim Follows Lawsuit With Speaking Out
A Russell Brand alleged sexual assault victim has come forward in a The Sunday Times interview after filing a lawsuit.
The woman worked as an extra on the Arthur film set and said she stood up to Brand to take her “power back.” Requesting court anonymity, this woman is known by the alias Jane Doe.
The unnamed actress alleges that Brand sexually assaulted her in July 2010 when Brand and Katy Perry were engaged. On Friday, she filed court documents against Brand, Warner Bros, and 3 related production companies.
Since a September investigation by Channel 4’s Dispatches, The Sunday Times, and The Times about four women alleging Brand assaulted them, this lawsuit is the first time such an allegation about the comedian’s behaviour has appeared in court.
After the media report, the Metropolitan Police launched their investigation into multiple sexual offence allegations against Brand.
In the filing, the anonymous actress alleges that in front of some Arthur cast and crew members, Brand exposed himself to her. Later that day, the woman further alleges that the comedian entered the bathroom she was in and assaulted her. At the same time, a “member of the production crew guarded the door from outside”.
Talking to The Sunday Times, the woman said that following Brand’s behaviour, she “felt used and abused.” She also said she felt like an “object” and “disgusting”.
“Disgusting is the only word. I felt like I was being used that I was just an object for his momentary titillation.”
In lawsuit documents, the woman said that Brand’s alleged abuse hurt her afterwards. She said that the alleged assault left her finding it “difficult to trust others” and that she continues to suffer extreme embarrassment, shame and fear”.
The alleged victim told The Sunday Times that she wanted to encourage other victims to take action against Brand by speaking out.
“I am trying to get my power back by speaking up about it,” the actress said. “And if there are other people who have had something like this happen, I want to help them have the courage to come forward too. Because, honestly, that’s what gave me the strength to do this — when I read the whole [Sunday Times and Times] investigation and I read about the other women’s allegations.
“Alone, I don’t think I would have felt able to. Hopefully when other women see another woman putting what happened to her out there, they will find the strength deep inside themselves to speak out.”
In the court documents, the alleged victim said Brand “smelt of alcohol, appearing “intoxicated”. She also said she saw him “carrying a vodka bottle on set.”
The woman said a power imbalance on the Arthur set left her feeling too scared to speak out. She said, “I felt like I had absolutely no power to speak up for myself because I knew that it would backfire.” “That was my belief at the time,” and “everyone usually turns a blind eye to bad behaviour on a set.”
“If I had come forward and said something to, say, even a production assistant on the set, what are they going to do? Are they going to fire Russell Brand, or are they going to fire me?
Brand hasn’t responded to the latest Jane Doe allegations. However, in September, he denied allegations from all 4 women who appeared in the related media investigation. He said that he was “very, very promiscuous” over the alleged time, and the sexual activity was “absolutely always consensual.”
Doe told the Times that others’ response to Brand’s fame would’ve worked against her if she’d spoken up sooner.
“No one would want to tarnish him — they would tarnish me because they would look at me like I’m a troublemaker.”
Want some help relating to the above issues? If so, visit the National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s website or RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Online Hotline.
