Russell Brand is being sued in the US courts for £100,000 by a woman who claims he attacked her at his Hollywood home 17 years ago.
The woman – referred to in High Court papers only as AGX – says the comic invited her over to his LA mansion in 2008, when she was 23, and forced himself on her.
She says she fled half-dressed in terror after he allegedly pushed her on to his bed and tried to perform sex acts against her will.
Brand, 50, has hit back with a robust defence, branding the allegations ‘fundamentally dishonest’ and insisting nothing improper happened.
According to AGX’s claim submitted to the court, the pair first met at Ago restaurant, a former celebrity hotspot in West Hollywood, before Brand invited her to his new home.
She alleges he greeted her in nothing but dirty white Y-fronts and led her upstairs to his bedroom, where he suddenly turned aggressive.
Court papers say the TV, film and radio star – and ex-husband of US pop singer Katy Perry – stripped off her clothes, groped her and attempted to pin her down before she managed to push him off and escape.
Russell Brand is being sued in the US courts for £100,000 by a woman who claims he attacked her at his Hollywood home 17 years ago
The woman – referred to in High Court papers only as AGX – says the comic invited her over to his LA mansion in 2008, when she was 23, and forced himself on her
In her statement, AGX says she was ‘terrified and shaking violently’ as she ran to her car, unable to even find her underwear in her rush to flee.
She claims the alleged assault left her with PTSD and later generalised anxiety disorder, conditions she says have plagued her ever since.
Backed by psychiatric reports, she is seeking damages for emotional harm, plus an extra £25,000 in aggravated damages for the humiliation and terror she says she endured.
In his defence, filed on July 1, Brand admits meeting AGX at Ago and inviting her back, but insists the encounter was consensual and uneventful.
He says she showed sexual interest in him before visiting his house, but once it became clear they weren’t on the same page, she simply left.
He flatly denies stripping her, forcing her onto his bed or assaulting her in any way.
Brand’s lawyers also argue the case is legally out of time.
They point out that under Californian law, civil claims of this kind must be brought within ten years – which would have expired in 2018. Even under English law, they say, the six-year limit ran out long ago.
Brand, 50, has hit back with a robust defence, branding the allegations ‘fundamentally dishonest’ and insisting nothing improper happened
The High Court will first have to decide whether the claim can proceed at all, given the alleged incident dates back nearly two decades.
The Mail approached Russell Brand and his lawyers for comment.
Brand, formerly host of Channel 4’s Big Brother’s Big Mouth, now hosts a regular show on YouTube featuring conspiracy theories and right-wing talking points.
He still faces a criminal trial related to separate alleged victims. He pleaded not guilty to charges of rape, sexual assault and indecent assault at a court hearing in London earlier this year.
Allegations of sexual misconduct against Brand first emerged in a Sunday Times and Dispatches investigation in 2023.
In April this year, he was charged with two counts of rape, two of sexual assault and one of indecent assault
It is alleged that he raped one woman at a hotel in September 1999 after meeting her at an event during the Labour conference.
The second complainant, a television worker, alleges Brand tried to drag her into a men’s toilet in 2001.
The third claims he orally raped and sexually assaulted her at a bar in Soho in 2004.
The fourth complainant, a radio worker, claims he grabbed her by the face, ‘sloppily’ kissed her and grabbed her breast and buttocks in 2004 or 2005, while Brand was working as a presenter on the TV show Big Brother’s Big Mouth.
Mr Brand vehemently denies all charges against him and has insisted he has never had non-consensual sex.
He is due to stand trial in June next year.
