The court heard detailed evidence this week from a woman referred to as Ms E, who alleged that Brand raped her at his Gothic-style Victorian townhouse a few days after she attended his Scandalous tour show at the Hammersmith Apollo in 2009, when she was 21 and Brand was 33.
Ms E told police in a recorded interview played to the jury that after the show, Brand singled her out in the foyer and invited her backstage, where she performed a consensual sex act. She said she declined to go further because she had a boyfriend, and Brand responded, “We don’t belong to anyone, we are all free.” Days later, she visited his home, where she said he asked her to shower and brush her teeth before consensual sex that, she alleged, became an act she did not consent to.
“He didn’t give me a warning, he didn’t ask,” Ms E said. “It was traumatic … he hurt me and harmed me and when I asked him to stop, he didn’t.” She told the court that after the alleged rape, Brand told her to “clear up the mess”, turned on the television, took a phone call, and left the room.
During cross-examination, Brand’s barrister, Ian Winter KC, challenged Ms E’s account. He put to her that she knew Brand had a reputation for being sexually active with multiple women, noting he had won The Sun’s ‘Shagger of the Year’ three years running, and that she attended a sexually explicit live show. “You knew full well the reputation he had at that time about the way he treated women?” Winter asked.
Ms E replied, “I had not heard at that time about Mr Brand raping somebody.”
Winter suggested that her adoration of Brand “completely clouded” her judgment and that she agreed to bedroom activities she would not have done otherwise. “In a way, you went along with what he wanted because you were young and impressionable and obsessed with him,” the barrister said.
“I didn’t agree to do that,” Ms E replied. She said Brand “didn’t act like he’d done something criminal” after the alleged rape. Winter countered: “That’s because you consented.”
“I didn’t consent to what happened to me. I have said that repeatedly,” Ms E said. “I agree that I haven’t painted myself in a very good light. I did just meet Mr Brand at the Hammersmith Apollo and I did have a partner who I really loved and I made a huge mistake.”
The court also heard that months after the alleged rape, Ms E saw Brand at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and ran away. She said he then texted her: “You're dirty and I wanna push you further.” She replied: “I think you pushed me far enough, you treated me like an animal.” Brand responded “I'm sorry”, according to Ms E’s account.
Winter noted that Ms E did not reply “you raped me” in that exchange. He said her response of “you treated me like an animal” was consistent with having been pushed and treated poorly, but not raped. Ms E maintained she did not consent.
The trial has also heard from five other women who accuse Brand of rape, sexual assault, or indecent assault in separate incidents, including at a Labour Party Conference fringe event and in workplace settings. The prosecution has said the women did not know each other and came forward independently after media reports about Brand.
Brand, who has been sitting in the glass-walled dock throughout proceedings, has denied all charges. His wife, Laura Gallacher, has watched from the public gallery. The trial continues.