Jemima Goldsmith has said Russell Brand physically assaulted her and accused him of “violence, coercive control and abuse”, shortly after Brand was sentenced to more than 10 years in prison.
The 52-year-old TV producer said she has always been “strongly and unequivocally” on the side of Brand’s victims as she opened up about her own “painful” experience with her former partner in a social media post on Monday.
Shortly after Brand was sentenced, Goldsmith posted on X: “I am in awe of the courageous women who came forward at Brand’s trial, told their stories, testified and ensured justice was done. I have had my own personal experience of his violence, coercive control and abuse.”
Goldsmith said she had to call the police to have Brand removed from her house in 2014 during a violent incident but chose not to press charges at the time, nor go public, because she was worried about the impact of press attention on her then teenage children. She added that she has neither seen nor spoken to Brand since that period in 2014.
“Whilst my pain in relation to this, pales in comparison to what the women have testified in court have suffered, this was a difficult period in my life which has had a lasting impact,” she wrote.
Goldsmith, known professionally as Jemima Khan, is reported to have been in a relationship with Brand for a year from around September 2013. On X, she said she had assisted the journalists who exposed Brand in a Channel 4 Dispatches documentary and in reports in the Times and Sunday Times in 2023, and had undertaken to testify in court to his abusiveness if the newspaper that published the victims’ accounts were ever sued.
Goldsmith made the comments in light of renewed press reporting about a harassment injunction that she and Brand took out against a woman named Szilvia Berki in 2014. Berki had made allegations against Brand to police after being booked to give him a massage at Goldsmith’s home in June 2014. An injunction was granted by a high court judge and meant Berki was banned from speaking to anyone about her allegations against Brand.
Goldsmith said the online commentary and media reporting about the injunction had presented “an untrue narrative” and opened her up to “vile hatred and abuse online”. She said she was present the whole time Berki was with Brand and did not see anything untoward, “despite the fact that he was later found guilty of sexually assaulting other women and he later physically assaulted me”.
The Guardian has not been able to reach Berki.
On Thursday, Brand was found guilty of raping a fan and sexually assaulting three women in separate incidents between 2004 and 2009. He was cleared of two further charges of rape and one of attempted indecent assault.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- A prominent figure who was once close to Brand has now publicly aligned herself with his victims, adding a personal account of abuse from within his private life
- Goldsmith’s statement confirms that Brand’s pattern of alleged violence extended beyond the women who testified at trial
- The case continues to raise questions about the use of harassment injunctions to silence accusers, and the pressures that prevent victims from coming forward
Background
Russell Brand was found guilty on 6 November 2026 of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault against four women, committed between 2004 and 2009. He was sentenced to more than 10 years in prison. Brand had been under investigation for two additional alleged rapes. Jemima Goldsmith, a TV producer and former wife of Pakistan cricket captain Imran Khan, was in a relationship with Brand for about a year from September 2013.
Key Perspectives
- Jemima Goldsmith: said she experienced “violence, coercive control and abuse” from Brand, called police to remove him from her home during a violent incident in 2014, and has supported Brand's victims since the 2023 Channel 4 Dispatches documentary and Times/Sunday Times reports.
- Brand’s victims: Goldsmith described them as “courageous women who came forward at Brand’s trial, told their stories, testified and ensured justice was done”.
What to Watch
- Whether the renewed attention leads to further police investigations or additional victims coming forward
- Any legal developments regarding the 2014 harassment injunction against Szilvia Berki
- Potential appeals or sentencing challenges from Brand's legal team
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 12 supported.
Show each claim
- SupportedGoldsmith says Russell Brand physically assaulted her.UK news | The Guardian: “Jemima Goldsmith has said Russell Brand physically assaulted her”
- SupportedBrand was sentenced to more than 10 years in prison after being found guilty of rape and sexual assault.UK news | The Guardian: “Shortly after Brand was sentenced to more than 10 years in prison”
- SupportedGoldsmith described her own experience as “violence, coercive control and abuse”.UK news | The Guardian: “I have had my own personal experience of his violence, coercive control and abuse.”
- SupportedGoldsmith said she had always been “strongly and unequivocally” on the side of Brand’s victims.UK news | The Guardian: “The 52-year-old TV producer said she has always been “strongly and unequivocally” on the side of Brand’s victims”
- SupportedGoldsmith was 52 and a TV producer.UK news | The Guardian: “The 52-year-old TV producer”
- SupportedGoldsmith said she called police to have Brand removed from her house during a violent incident in 2014.UK news | The Guardian: “I had to call the police to have him removed from my house in 2014 during a violent incident.”
- SupportedGoldsmith said she did not press charges or go public at the time because she worried about the impact of press attention on her teenage children.UK news | The Guardian: “I chose not to press charges at the time and not to go public with this, as I was worried about the impact of the press attention on my then teenage children.”
- SupportedGoldsmith said she had neither seen nor spoken to Brand since 2014.UK news | The Guardian: “I have neither seen nor spoken to Brand since that period in 2014.”
- SupportedGoldsmith was reported to have been in a relationship with Brand for a year from around September 2013.UK news | The Guardian: “is reported to have been in a relationship with Brand for a year from around September 2013.”
- SupportedGoldsmith said she assisted journalists who exposed Brand in a Channel 4 Dispatches documentary and in Times and Sunday Times reports in 2023.UK news | The Guardian: “Goldsmith said she had assisted the journalists who had exposed Brand in a Channel 4 Dispatches documentary and in reports in the Times and Sunday Times in 2023.”
- SupportedGoldsmith said she undertook to testify in court to Brand’s abusiveness if the newspaper that published the victims’ accounts were sued.UK news | The Guardian: “I also undertook to testify in court to his abusiveness, if the newspaper that published the victims’ accounts were ever to be sued”
- SupportedBrand was found guilty of raping a fan and sexually assaulting three women in separate incidents between 2004 and 2009, and was cleared of two further rape charges and one attempted indecent assault charge.UK news | The Guardian: “On Thursday, Brand was found guilty of raping a fan and sexually assaulting three women in separate incidents between 2004 and 2009. He was cleared of two further charges of rape and one of attempted indecent assault.”