Russell Brand charged with 2 more counts of rape, sexual assault

Russell Brand charged with rape and sexual assault

London police have charged comedian and actor Russell Brand with multiple counts of rape and assault from incidents that allegedly occurred between 1999 and 2005. LiveNOW's Andrew Craft discusses the latest details with TMZ's Michael Babcock.

LONDON - Comedian and actor Russell Brand has been charged with two more counts of rape and sexual assault.

Russell Brand charged with 2 more counts of rape and sexual assault

Big picture view:

The U.K.'s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said that the "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" star’s charges relate to two additional women on top of the previous charges.

Russell Brand speaks onstage during MusiCares Person of the Year honoring Aerosmith at West Hall at Los Angeles Convention Center on January 24, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. (Credit: Lester Cohen/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)

The alleged offenses took place in 2009, the CPS said.

What's next:

Brand is expected to appear next in court on Jan. 20, in relation to the two new charges brought against him. A trial has also been scheduled for June next year and is expected to last four to five weeks.

Russell Brand previously charged in April

The backstory:

Brand, 50, had already been charged in April with two counts of rape, two counts of sexual assault and one count of indecent assault. The charges were brought following an 18-month investigation sparked when four women alleged they had been assaulted by the controversial comedian.

EARLIER: Russell Brand charged with rape, sexual assault

The previous charges were already linked to four separate women, and the assaults reportedly happened between 1999 and 2005, The Associated Press reports. 

Brand pleaded not guilty to those charges in a London court.

When the first batch of charges were announced in April, Brand said that he welcomed the opportunity to prove his innocence.

"I was a fool before I lived in the light of the Lord," he said in a social media video. "I was a drug addict, a sex addict and an imbecile. But what I never was a rapist. I’ve never engaged in nonconsensual activity. I pray that you can see that by looking in my eyes."

Known for his unbridled and risqué standup routines, Brand hosted shows on radio and television, wrote memoirs charting his battles with drugs and alcohol, appeared in several Hollywood movies and was briefly married to pop star Katy Perry between 2010 and 2012. In recent years, Brand has largely disappeared from mainstream media but has built up a large following online with videos mixing wellness and conspiracy theories.