When Russell Brand played oversexed rock star Aldous Snow in the 2008 comedy film “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” co-star Kristen Bell gave him a stern warning about his behavior on set, the actress said in a resurfaced interview.
“I made it really clear from the beginning that I would sock him in the b—s if he tried anything,” Bell, 43, told the Daily Mail in 2010 of the British comedian who’s well-known for his promiscuity. “So he was intimidated.”
On Saturday, Brand, 48, was accused of sexually assaulting, raping and emotionally abusing four women, ranging in ages from 16 to 31, from 2006 to 2013. He strongly denies the allegations.
In another 2010 interview, shortly after Brand announced his engagement to pop star Katy Perry, Bell told the UK’s Daily Record a similar story of her “Marshall” days with the comic, who played her sex-crazed new boyfriend.
“He didn’t try to mess with me or get in my pants,” she said. “He knew I would lop his n–s off.”
The actress, who was aware of Brand’s messy reputation, added: “Russell loves everyone to know that he’s a womanizer and he’s done all these strange things, but I think secretly hiding inside Russell is a very nice boy.”
On a video posted to Brand’s Instagram before the joint investigation from The Times of London, The Sunday Times and Channel 4 Dispatches dropped last weekend, the comic denied all the accusations, saying his sexual relationships “were absolutely, always consensual” and calling the report “a coordinated attack.”
Russell Brand sexual assault allegations
Brand was accused of raping, sexually assaulting and abusing four women over the course of seven years from 2006 to 2013.
- One woman, identified as “Nadia,” alleged the “Get Him to the Greek” star raped her against the wall of his Los Angeles home in 2012 and that she was treated at a rape crisis center the same day, according to medical records cited by news outlets.
- Another accuser, who was 16 at the time and is known only by the pseudonym “Alice,” alleged the then-31-year-old called her “the child” and assaulted her during their “emotionally abusive and controlling” three-month relationship, according to the report.
- A woman identified as “Phoebe” claimed he sexually assaulted her at his property in West Hollywood after they met at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, according to the Times of London. Brand allegedly trapped her in a bedroom and chased her around before pinning her down and assaulting her.
- The star’s ex-girlfriend Jordan Martin made similar accusations in her self-published 2014 book “kNot: Entanglement with a Celebrity.” She claims he sexually assaulted her at the Lowry Hotel in Manchester, England, after becoming angry that she had spoken to an ex-boyfriend in 2007.
- Pop star Dannii Minogue angrily labeled Brand a “vile predator” as far back as 2006 — accusing him of creeping her out by perving over her “fabulous breasts” and refusing to “take no for an answer.”
Brand denied the allegations in a video on YouTube and X, formerly Twitter, alerting fans to “serious criminal” allegations that he said would be made against him.
“Amidst this litany of astonishing, rather baroque attacks, are some very serious allegations that I absolutely refute,” Branded shared. “The relationships I had were absolutely, always consensual.”
While the investigation proceeds, YouTube has suspended Brand from making money on the video streaming site, his pub “Crown Inn,” located in Pishill, Britain, has been temporarily shut down and BBC has formally launched a review into the comedian’s time at the network.
The Times reported on Monday that “several women” have come forward with information about Brand since the story’s publication. And Brand’s manager, Tavistock Wood, has terminated his contract with the comedian.
The news has also reignited interest in an even earlier screen role of Brand’s — as a teenager accused of violently assaulting a man on the British crime series “The Bill.”
On a 1994 episode of the long-running ITV series that gave many celebs their starts, an 18-year-old Brand played Billy Chase, a petty thief who is arrested for nearly killing a man, cutting up his face and taking his eye out. Like Brand, Billy also adamantly denies any wrongdoing.
“The fight, two nights ago… you left a man for dead!,” an investigator shouts at him.
“I was never there!” the teen responds.
