Russell Brand told woman ‘it’s fun, it’s normal’ as he raped her, court hears

Russell Brand told a woman “it’s just fun” as he allegedly raped her in a hotel room at the Labour Party conference, a court has heard.

The comedian, 51, is accused of attacking the woman in 1999 in a Bournemouth hotel after stripping off his clothes and “goose stepping” around the room like Basil Fawlty.

The woman told police she recalls Brand have a “snake-like” body, pushing her on to the bed and laying on top of her, she says she closed her eyes as she was allegedly attacked, and was left feeling “dirty” and ashamed in the aftermath.

And in her recorded interview, which was played to Southwark Crown Court on Thursday, the woman – who had been a victim of abuse in the past – said Brand told her “it’s normal” as the attack was unfolding.

“He was just saying ‘we’re having fun, it’s fine, it’s all good’,” she recalled.

“Don’t worry about it, it’s just fun, it’s normal.”

She said Brand made her compare past experiences, and it “stuck in her head…is this what abusers do?”

She added: “It was almost like trying to convince me it’s all OK.

“I’d have to learn to enjoy it.”

The woman told police Brand had also tried to reassure her about his character earlier in the hotel room encounter.

“I remember him mentioning my own experiences, to almost be like ….I’m not like that, I’m not like those men,” she said.

“Convincing me and using that.”

She added: “He was trying to make me feel at ease”.

“I’m sure he mentioned that not every man is like the men I’ve met in the past.”

Brand has denies all the charges he faces – three counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault, and one allegation of indecent assault.

He is set to argue that the women have “re-imagined” their experiences with him after seeing recent media coverage of sexual misconduct claims.

Brand met the alleged rape victim when she was in the audience for a fringe cabaret show in which he was performing.

She told the police she met actor Richard Wilson – Victor Meldrew in One Foot In The Grave – and “some of the prime ministers” at the Labour conference, but had grown bored of the main events and sought out fringe events.

She initially thought Brand was gay and uninterested in her sexually, and remembered him pulling her ponytail and saying “boo” when he approached her at the venue.

“He was very childish, he was very playful – I didn’t feel threatened by him”, she said.

She said they “chatted for hours”, discussing a possible play they could stage, and she invited him back to her hotel room to continue their conversation.

But she said Brand then emerged topless from the bathroom, demanded that she take his photo, and started “prancing around, being silly” including performing “goose steps” like TV character Basil Fawlty.

She said: “I remember him being like an ostrich – like a bird because he was very leggy.

“I wasn’t laughing, I just remember him jumping up and down being silly.”

She recalls being shocked and says she “froze”, thinking: “What on earth have I got into?”

The woman said she had never previously seen a naked man, and said of Brand: “I found his body a bit snake-like and disgusting.

“It made me feel sick.”

She alleges Brand “pushed me onto the bed” and took off her trousers, and he felt “heavy” as he lay on top of her.

She “drifted out of my head” during the alleged rape, she said, adding: “It didn’t take long, I just know it was quick.”

In the aftermath, she said Brand acted “like nothing was wrong”, wrote down his email address, and suggested that his mother may like to meet her.

“He knew exactly what he was doing,” she told police.

“He wanted to have sex that night and I was there.”

The woman broke down in tears as she said: “It made me feel so dirty and I thought it was my fault…but in those days it was your fault, it was always your fault.”

She added that she was “having nightmares” about the possibility of being pregnant, and contemplated self-harm as she resolved to not tell anyone what had happened.

She told police Brand appeared to have had a “brilliant time”, he had showered her with compliments during the incident, and afterwards reassured her about sexually transmitted diseases by saying “I go to the clinic a lot, I don’t have any diseases”.

The woman added: “I actually cursed myself…I just felt ‘what have you done, you’re stupid, a stupid person’.”

Brand, wearing a top knot to court, has sat listening intently to the video interview from the dock while displaying little emotion.

The trial continues.