Key Takeaways
- Russell Brand’s lawyers kept his marriage to Katy Perry out of prosecutors’ opening arguments, arguing that their relationship was irrelevant to allegations dating from before their 2010 wedding.
- Brand later mentioned Perry while testifying about his “staggering fame,” though police never interviewed her; his defense also secured cuts to references about his addiction treatment and religious history.
- Brand received a 10-year, six-month prison sentence for one rape and three sexual assaults, while Metropolitan Police investigate two additional rape allegations.
Russell Brand's lawyers kept his marriage to Katy Perry out of prosecutors' opening arguments during his criminal trial in London. Now, newly disclosed court documents reveal how his legal team successfully challenged attempts to introduce the pop star into the proceedings, even as Brand himself eventually brought up their relationship while testifying.
According to Variety, prosecutors originally planned to reference Brand's marriage to Perry, but his attorneys objected to introducing details of his personal life that were unrelated to the criminal allegations.
And prosecutors ultimately agreed.
"The prosecution recognizes that matters post 2009 involving his relationship with Katy Perry may be sensitive, as may his previous faiths, and we are content to remove these from the opening," lead prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones KC wrote in pretrial submissions.
The decision wasn't entirely surprising given the timeline. The offenses for which Brand was convicted occurred between 2004 and 2009, before he married Perry in 2010.
But keeping the singer out of the prosecution's opening statement didn't mean her name never surfaced.
Brand mentioned Perry himself while taking the stand, describing their marriage as part of a period of "staggering fame" in his career.
Perry was never interviewed by police or asked to provide a witness statement during the investigation.
The former couple began dating in 2009 and married in a Hindu ceremony in Rajasthan, India, the following year. They separated in December 2011, and their divorce was finalized in 2012.
And Perry wasn't the only part of Brand's past that his defense wanted excluded.
Testimony from former assistant Helen Berger was subsequently edited to remove references to Brand's treatment at a sex addiction clinic.
However, jurors were permitted to hear Berger characterize his past behavior, including what she described as an "insane sexual appetite."
The prosecution also removed references to Brand’s earlier religious practices and his 2024 Christian baptism.
The revelations come as Brand's criminal case reaches its conclusion.
On Monday, November 9, Judge Joel Bennathan sentenced the 51-year-old former Forgetting Sarah Marshall star to 10 years and six months in prison at Southwark Crown Court.
The sentence followed his Nov. 5 conviction on one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault involving four women. Jurors acquitted him of two additional rape charges and one count of attempted indecent assault.
Brand had denied all seven charges.
The judge ordered Brand to serve two-thirds of his sentence in custody before becoming eligible for release on license (the British equivalent of parole). He will also remain on the sex offenders' register for life.
If you or someone you know has been affected by rape or sexual assault, confidential support is available through the RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800-656-HOPE (4673) or online at RAINN.org.
