Russell Brand was ‘wild-eyed maniac’ when trying to drag woman into toilets, court told

Russell Brand transformed into a “wild-eyed maniac” when he tried to drag a woman into a men’s toilets for a sexual encounter before she “wrenched” herself free, a court has heard.

The 51-year-old comedian is accused of indecently assaulting the woman, who told Southwark crown court: “I emerged relatively unscathed. He didn’t manage to rape me.”

The woman, who was working for MTV at the time, said she did not report the incident then because she was “scared” as Brand was famous “and a big asset” to the TV channel.

Brand is facing three charges of rape, three of sexual assault and one of indecent assault against six women, in allegations spanning 10 years from 1999 to 2009. He denies all the charges.

Wearing a dark pinstripe suit, the TV personality sat bolt upright in the dock on Friday as the woman gave evidence from behind a screen.

She said she was working at MTV in 2001 when she met Brand and they had “banter” about an I Am Spartacus T-shirt he was wearing. She later offered to show him the way to the toilets, where he allegedly assaulted her.

The woman said she felt “bewildered and confused”, telling the court: “This person went from someone jovial and friendly to suddenly turning into this wild-eyed maniac trying to pull me into the toilet.”

Detailing the alleged assault, she added: “His demeanour changed. He grabbed my forearm and he was leaning into the door. It was quite forceful, the grip. It took me unawares, I wasn’t expecting that.”

In response to questions from the prosecutor, Riel Karmy-Jones KC, the woman said Brand began pleading with her to come into the toilets as she tried to get away.

“I said to him: ‘What are you doing? Are you mad? Let me go.’ Then he started to plead, almost ‘go on, go on, come in’,” she told the court.

She said he had a “wild” look in his eyes and she had to use her strength to escape his “hard” grip in an interaction that lasted about 20 seconds.

The woman said she told two colleagues what had happened but she did not make a police complaint until she saw a 2023 documentary that accused Brand of sexual misconduct.

“It brought everything back,” she said. “I thought I’d managed to get away. It could’ve been very different … I thought it was the right thing to come forward.”

In cross-examination, the defence barrister, Ian Winter KC, suggested the woman had reassessed her memory of the incident after the documentary, but she said it had not changed her mind.

“I don’t think it’s quite as straightforward as that,” she said. “It would have been my word against his, I had a job to consider, I emerged relatively unscathed. He didn’t manage to rape me. I managed to get myself out of the situation.”

She rejected the barrister’s suggestion that Brand had “invited” her into the toilet for a consensual sexual encounter. She said: “You don’t drag someone by the arm, not in my world anyway. You don’t grip someone to drag them in, that’s not consensual.”

She said he had been “grabbing and pulling” her, telling the court: “That’s not inviting someone in. That’s forcing someone to do something against their will.”

Winter suggested it was “a short-lived, very, very minor incident” and that after the woman declined, Brand “left it there”. The woman responded: “The intent was there. It could have been very different.”

Earlier, the court heard evidence from witnesses relating to the first complainant, who gave evidence on Thursday. She alleges Brand raped her after a fringe cabaret show at the 1999 Labour party conference in Bournemouth.

Andrew Dobson, a former flatmate of Brand’s who composed the music for the show, described his impressions of the comedian, saying he was “a very vibrant character, very egotistical … lively, sort of quite demanding and persuading”.

Dobson told the court: “I think sex was a huge preoccupation for him. I do recall clearly nights where the pursuit of ultimately getting somebody into bed would have been a preoccupation.”

He said there was a “hurried and rushed” tone at their shared guesthouse in Bournemouth on the morning after their final show. “I recall Russell coming in and there suddenly being an urgency to leave,” he said.

John Rogers, who wrote the show, described Brand’s reaction to an “encounter” the actor had had with a woman during the week of the conference, saying it was “a bit odd” and he appeared “flustered”.

The court also heard statements from two women whom the first complainant had told about the alleged rape after the 2023 documentary.

The trial continues.