Inside Russell Brand's trial, where he was called a 'maniac' and 'predator'

The door on Russell Brand's large, black van had barely begun to slide open outside London's Southwark Crown Court on Wednesday when the questions started.Warning: This article contains details some readers may find distressing.It has been 18 months since the British entertainer was first charged with multiple sex offences. Here, his trial was less than an hour away from beginning.With the global media spotlight on him (more than 100 journalists have applied for access to the proceedings and a cavalcade of podcasters and YouTubers want in too), Mr Brand cut a composed figure in front of the press pens set up to keep some kind of order."I'll just get Laura out, won't be a sec," the 51-year-old told one reporter, who'd asked him how he was feeling. After helping his wife of nine years, Laura Gallacher, exit the vehicle, Mr Brand moved towards the ABC's camera and said: "Today, I feel blessed.""I feel, of course, concerned. But hopeful that this process will lead to good outcomes for everybody involved. That's my prayer," he added, before thanking the journalist for being so "polite" and being ushered inside by his personal security guard.The inside of Southwark Crown Court is a world away from the glitz and glamour of Hollywood.It is a drab 1980s building, with terracotta-coloured carpet, harsh lighting, dated chairs, and lots of black-and-yellow sticky tape holding things together—such as the microphones in court and signs telling you who sits where.The world-famous actor and comedian appeared calm, almost zen-like, as he sat in the dock and the prosecution began unfolding its case against him.Central to this trial are six women whom the media are not allowed to identify.Mr Brand is accused of three counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault, and one count of indecent assault relating to these women over a 10-year period from 1999.He has pleaded not guilty to all seven charges and has previously told police that either he didn't remember the incidents or he never engaged in any non-consensual sex.The trial at Southwark Crown Court in London is expected to last at least six weeks. (ABC News: Alex Parsons)This week, the jury was told Mr Brand's accusers had all come forward separately and do not know each other.Crown Prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones KC told the court in her opening statement that while the women's allegations were "different", the jury "may hear behaviour by Brand that echoes" between them.Mr Brand sat silently in the dock as the prosecutor explained graphic details about his alleged crimes to the jury and described him as a "ruthless, calculated and manipulative sexual predator"."To the defendant, women were simply a means to an end," Ms Karmy-Jones said.Mr Brand's wife, who was sitting off to the side of the dock, kept a straight face as allegation after allegation was read out.At first, she couldn't see her husband from her seat in the public gallery, but court staff moved her to a seat closer to the glassed-off area and left the dock door open so they could see each other. She did not return for day two.British newspapers splashed the opening day of Russell Brand's trial on their front pages this week. (ABC News: Alex Parsons)First accuser tells court: 'I thought Brand was gay'The court heard from multiple prosecution witnesses this week, including a former colleague and housemate of Mr Brand's who claimed the entertainer had told him he wanted to have sex with "5,000 girls".The trial is expected to last at least six weeks and while the defence will not lay its case out until later, Mr Brand's barrister Ian Winter KC has already made it clear to the court it is his client's position that the accusers have "re-imagined" things.On Thursday, the entire day's evidence focused on Mr Brand's earliest accuser in the case, who was given the pseudonym Ms A.Mr Brand did not react in the dock as the jury watched a video of Ms A's police interview, filmed in September 2023.She alleges he raped her after they met on the sidelines of the Labour Party Conference in the coastal resort town of Bournemouth in 1999.He was not yet famous, but was performing in a cabaret show and the pair got chatting afterwards."I thought he was a gay man," she said in the video. "He was very softly spoken, very effeminate, I felt sexually safe with him."When the show's venue closed, the court heard, Ms A invited him back to her hotel to keep the conversation going.She claims that when she came out of the bathroom Mr Brand was "prancing around like an ostrich" and telling her to take his photo (the jury was shown two of those photos, which show the entertainer with his shirt off).The first complainant told the court this week Russell Brand raped her shortly after she took these pictures of him. (Supplied: Metropolitan Police)In the video played to the court, Ms A said Mr Brand then pushed her on to the hotel room's bed."I know he raped me, I know he was touching me, I know he grabbed my breast, I know he tried to kiss me," she told the detective conducting the interview."He was messing around with his tongue, it was horrible, it was lizard-like."Later Thursday, she gave in-person evidence from behind protective screens in court.In both instances she went into graphic detail about Mr Brand's alleged assault and became emotional when Mr Winter accused her of "falling under Brand's spell" and later regretting it, not being raped.Ms A and Mr Winter were at times combative during the latter's cross-examination.The witness accused Mr Brand's barrister of "trying to put words in my mouth".Russell Brand has listened to the evidence intently from the dock this week. (Reuters: Julia Quenzler)In one lengthy back-and-forth, they argued about the definition of "flirting".There was confusion in court when Mr Winter asked Ms A about why she had not asked Mr Brand to "stop" during the alleged rape.Ms A replied that she had, in fact, asked him to stop and pointed out she had told police that in her video-taped interview which was played to the jury earlier.At that point, the presiding judge Mr Justice Bennathan interjected to caution the defendant's lawyer, saying: "I'm the judge, you have to listen to me".Mr Winter and Ms A also argued about the photos Ms A took of Mr Brand topless, because she initially told police he was in his underwear, but the images show him wearing trousers.Court hears Brand turned into 'wild-eyed maniac'During her opening address, Ms Karmy-Jones asked the jury to keep in mind that Brand's behaviour "may have changed" over the years.When the first alleged assault in Bournemouth took place, the defendant was 24."Over the years he may have changed both physically and as a person, however, despite that passage of time, his responsibility for wrongs done, and crimes committed at a younger age remain," Ms Karmy-Jones told the jury.The Crown Prosecutor said Mr Brand would often make a quick exit after his alleged offences, and once told a live audience he was attracted to women between the ages of "16 to death".She said one of Mr Brand's accusers would testify the assault on her had been so violent, she later complained to him via a text message that the Hollywood star had treated her "like an animal".Ms Karmy-Jones told the court the entertainer had assaulted the women in a variety of locations, including offices, his own home, the hotel in Bournemouth and toilet cubicles.On Friday, the court heard evidence from the entertainer's second accuser, Ms B, who said Mr Brand had turned into "wild-eyed maniac trying to pull me into a toilet" during a 2001 visit to the offices of media company MTV where she worked.The complainant told the court she and Mr Brand had been chatting about a shirt he was wearing, but the star's behaviour went from "jovial" to something much darker after she showed him where the building's bathrooms were."He grabbed me by the arm and started to pull me and said 'come on, come in with me'," she said, adding she had managed to free herself, and that the whole exchange lasted about 20 seconds.Ms B told the court she decided not to mention anything to her employer at the time because she did not know whether she would be believed, but she contacted police in 2023 after watching a documentary about Mr Brand.During cross-examination, Mr Brand's lawyer put it to Ms B what she had described was "a minor incident".Russell Brand and his wife Laura Gallacher make their way past the media and into the court. (Reuters: Hannah McKay)Outside court on Friday morning, reporters again asked Mr Brand how he was feeling."Well, obviously it's an extraordinary and stressful situation," he said."But it is also an exploration of truth and justice. And as I've said before, I pray for everybody involved, everybody involved. It's in a way very, very sad, but hopefully it can bring about some conclusions that are beneficial."Such is the media interest in this case, officials have provided an overflow room for journalists and the odd law student to monitor the trial, on top of the 22 press seats in the court where it is being conducted.Because those are always full, the rest of the media have watched proceedings remotely via a private live stream.