Brand takes the stand

True crime · Heat 8.7 / 10 · 2 shows · 34m airtime

Russell Brand testified on October 28, 2026, at his UK Crown Court trial, denying seven charges tied to six accusers and blaming the 2023 Channel 4 program for setting the charges in motion. He told the court he does not consider the program a documentary, and said he gave four police statements between November 2023 and July 2025 denying non-consensual activity. His former assistant Helen Berger told the jury she never saw him do anything against the law, while Brand said he could not find a single person to testify on his behalf. The charge involving complainant two was reduced from indecent assault to attempted indecent assault, and the jury was shown a 2007 My Booky Wook caption. The discussion…

How 2 podcasts covered it

1. The Megyn Kelly Show, 2026-10-28 (1:29 to 6:43)
   Argues the documentary drove the charges
   Previews Brand's morning testimony and argues the 2023 Channel 4 documentary drove the charges, since the accusers said nothing for years until it aired. Also attacks the British press corps and the court rule barring courtroom reporters from analysis.
   New angle: Brand told the court he does not consider the Channel 4 program a documentary.
2. The Megyn Kelly Show, 2026-10-28 (7:39 to 10:19)
   Recounts the assistant who saw no crime
   Recounts the prosecution's last witness, Brand's former personal assistant Helen Berger, whose statement was read to the jury: an insatiable appetite and constant sexual talk, but no witnessed crime and no one reporting anything criminal to her. Kelly reads it as mildly damaging, not devastating, before Brand's own testimony.
   New angle: Brand's former assistant Helen Berger told the jury she never saw him do anything against the law.
3. The Megyn Kelly Show, 2026-10-28 (10:13 to 19:56)
   Adds Brand's four police statements to the record
   Walks through Brand's direct examination by Ian Winter: four pre-prepared police statements denying non-consensual activity, the claim that a defamatory documentary set the charges in motion, and his account of why he now remembers the complainants. Adds the police-statement record and the memory explanation to the trial's file.
   New angle: Brand gave four police statements between November 2023 and July 2025 denying non-consensual activity.
4. The Megyn Kelly Show, 2026-10-28 (19:56 to 28:27)
   Details the reduced charge against complainant two
   Walks through the indictment count by count as Brand answers no to each offense, then goes deep on complainant one: the 1999 Labour Party conference, the hotel room, the topless photograph, the email and the mother. Adds the courtroom detail that complainant two's charge was reduced to attempted indecent assault and that a friend, Mark Pinero, testified about the Bournemouth…
   New angle: Complainant two's charge was reduced from indecent assault to attempted indecent assault.
5. The Megyn Kelly Show, 2026-10-28 (28:46 to 34:29)
   Adds the My Booky Wook caption to the cross-examination
   Walks through the prosecution's cross-examination of Brand on complainant one: the phone he did not hand over, the My Booky Wook caption about acting gay to attract girls, and his denials that he ignored consent. The book caption is the piece the card did not have.
   New angle: The jury was shown a 2007 My Booky Wook caption: he decided to act gay to attract girls.
6. Daily Comedy News with Johnny Mac, 2026-10-30 (1:47 to 3:59)
   Covers Brand's first day on the stand
   Covers Brand's first day on the stand: the denials, the claim that no one would testify for him, the Katy Perry fame line, and the cross-examination over his memoir caption about acting gay to attract girls.
   New angle: Brand told the jury he could not find a single person to testify on his behalf.