British actor and podcaster Russell Brand was granted conditional bail Friday after appearing in a London court on charges of rape and sexual assault.
Brand, 49, did not enter a plea at Westminster Magistrates’ Court and was told that he is required to attend all future court hearings whether he is in the United Kingdom or United States, according to a report.
Last month, Brand was charged with two counts of rape, two counts of sexual assault, and indecent assault relating to four different women.
BREAKING: Russell Brand has been granted conditional bail after in his sexual offences case. https://t.co/TC2ROCL7wW
Sky 501, Virgin 602, Freeview 233 and YouTube pic.twitter.com/pLFelKstxx
— Sky News (@SkyNews) May 2, 2025
Incidents associated with the charges occurred from 1999 to 2005, according to England’s Crown Prosecution Service.
Brand was seen outside the court wearing a black button-down shirt, black pants, boots, and sunglasses. While inside, he confirmed his name, birthday, and address, and he informed the court that he understood his bail conditions, according to a report.
The actor’s next court appearance is slated for May 30 at the Old Bailey, the Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, according to the report.
Tucker Carlson came to Brand’s defense Friday, alleging that the once-beloved actor is being targeted by a “totalitarian” British state after speaking up about government abuse in the United Kingdom related to COVID-19.
“A government TV station accused Brand of committing sex crimes against anonymous women they refused to name,” Carlson posted to X. “Government officials called for his opinions to be scrubbed from the internet. Last month, British prosecutors charged Brand with rape and sexual assault. None of the charges are backed by hard evidence.
“All of them supposedly took place more than 20 years ago, one of them in the 1990s. The entire case is transparently political and absurd, a near-identical replay of the fake rape charges authorities brought against Julian Assange 15 years ago.”
Russell Brand was once a famous leftwing actor, celebrated by the British establishment. Then he criticized the government for using Covid to turn the UK into a totalitarian state. The accolades abruptly stopped. A government TV station accused Brand of committing sex crimes…
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) May 2, 2025
Carlson suggested that Brand be given asylum in the U.S. under President Donald Trump.
“Russell Brand, whose youngest child is barely a year old, now faces life in prison,” Carlson wrote. “He has no shot at a fair trial, because Britain is no longer a free country. Over the last few years, millions of foreigners have applied for asylum in the United States. Russell Brand actually deserves it. Say a prayer that the Trump administration comes to his rescue.”
Brand categorically denies the allegations of rape and sexual assault.
RUSSELL BRAND CHARGED WITH RAPE AND SEXUAL ASSAULT IN UNITED KINGDOM
“When I was young and single before I had my wife and family … my beautiful children, I was a fool, man,” Brand said in a video statement shortly after the charges were announced.
“I was a fool before I lived in the light of the Lord. I was a drug addict, a sex addict, and an imbecile, but what I never was was a rapist. I’ve never engaged in nonconsensual activity. I pray that you can see that by looking in my eyes.”
