Russell Brand’s Lawyer Says Allegations Were ‘Thoroughly Contaminated’ by Media Coverage - Music

In closing arguments, defense attorney Ian Winter challenged the credibility and independence of the six women whose allegations form the basis of Russell Brand’s criminal case, while prosecutors said the reporting did not cause them to invent or reshape their accounts.

Russell Brand’s defense attorney, Ian Winter, argued Monday that the six women who accused the comedian and YouTuber of rape and sexual assault had been heavily influenced by media coverage that preceded their allegations.

Speaking during closing arguments, Winter said the women came forward after being invited to participate in Channel 4’s investigative program Dispatches, which aired allegations of misconduct against Brand in 2023. He argued that the program, together with reporting in the Sunday Times, had undermined the fairness of the case by encouraging further accusations.

Winter described the complainants as “thoroughly contaminated” by the publicity and said they had not acted independently of one another. He also sought to cast doubt on the allegations by focusing on how the women behaved during and after the encounters they described, arguing that they had not resisted, screamed or attempted to leave.

The lawyer specifically addressed the fifth complainant, who alleged that Brand raped her anally in 2009. Winter said she did not physically try to stop him and later referred to her as “an obsessed fan.” He also questioned the account of the first complainant, who accused Brand of rape in 1999, noting that she behaved normally the following day and had expressed uncertainty about whether she had been raped when speaking to police.

Winter argued that the women’s descriptions of Brand’s behavior after the alleged assaults were inconsistent with guilt. He said Brand had acted normally during and after the encounters and maintained that he believed the women had consented.

The defense attorney did make some concessions while discussing the allegations. In relation to the second complainant, who accused Brand of trying to pull her into a bathroom and assault her in 2001, Winter acknowledged that his client had been “behaving like a crazy lunatic.” He maintained, however, that Brand stopped when the woman refused.

Winter also acknowledged that Brand had had what he called an “immense amount of sex,” but insisted that none of it was unlawful. He told jurors that promiscuity, manipulation in the pursuit of consensual sex and behavior they might find immoral were not, in themselves, criminal matters.

The defense closing argument followed the prosecution’s case, which concluded the previous Friday. Prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones rejected the suggestion that media coverage had caused the six women to invent, reinterpret or reshape their accounts. She argued that the complainants were independent and said the evidence would support their credibility.

Brand has pleaded not guilty to all seven charges. Before deliberations begin, the judge instructed the jury that any verdict on the charges must be unanimous.

Sources: Rolling Stone.