Russell Brand’s wife was visibly shaken as she left court after the former comedian was sentenced to 10 and a half years in prison for rape and sexual assault.
Russell Brand’s wife Laura Brand was seen quietly repeating “it’s OK, it’s OK” to herself as she left court on Monday, November 9, moments after her husband was sentenced to prison.
The allegations against Brand first became public in September 2023, after a joint investigation by The Times, The Sunday Times and Channel 4’s Dispatches.
The 51-year-old former comedian was jailed for 10 and a half years at Southwark Crown Court in London, after being found guilty last week of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault. Laura was sitting behind him with two female friends as the sentence was read out.
According to Sky News, she was visibly shaking and taking deep breaths as Mr Justice Joel Bennathan delivered his decision. Once it was over, she was reportedly seen mouthing “I love you, I’ll be OK” to her husband.
As guards led Brand away, he is said to have nodded at her and replied: “We’ll be OK.” The couple first dated in 2006 and 2007, when she was 19 and he was 30, after her sister, TV presenter Kirsty Gallacher, introduced them. They split, and Brand went on to marry Katy Perry. Laura and Brand reconnected in 2015, married in 2017 and share three children.
The judge described Brand as a “sexual predator”
During the hearing, the judge described Brand as a “sexual predator” and praised the courage of the women who gave evidence against him.
Brand had denied all the charges, which dated from 1999 to 2009. He was convicted of raping a woman at his home in 2009, and of sexually assaulting three other women, including at a London bar in 2004, at a radio station and during the filming of an ad. He was cleared of two other counts of rape and one count of attempted indecent assault.
Earlier in the hearing, Laura was seen shaking her head as one of the women read a victim statement to the court. The woman, who was assaulted at a party in a London bar in 2004, spoke about how hard it had been to watch his fame grow.
“For many years as his star was rising it was impossible to escape seeing him all over the media, being celebrated for his disgusting behaviour against women like it was all a joke,” she said. “There were many times I felt visibly sick at the sight of him parading around, thinking he can get away with anything.”
Brand’s children and Laura raised by defence
Brand’s barrister, Ian Winter KC, asked the judge for leniency, saying his client was “a fundamentally different person now.” He also argued that Laura and the couple’s three children were “innocent” and should be taken into account and said Laura was feeling “total devastation” and that “words are completely inadequate” to describe it.
The defence raised the family on Thursday, as well. After the guilty verdict, Winter asked for Brand to be granted bail as an “act of humanity” so he could go home and say goodbye to his children. The judge refused, saying he was a flight risk, and Brand was taken into custody that day.
“I regret the hardship caused to the children, of course,” the judge said at the time. “But the hardship has been caused by serious criminal offending by their father.”
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