Russell Brand faced an uncomfortable moment during a New York interview on Piers Morgan Uncensored when he was unable to locate specific Bible passages from the very book he had carried into Southwark Crown Court in February, where he is facing rape and assault charges he denies.
Brand flicked through the pages for around two minutes without finding the relevant verses, creating an awkward silence that was quickly seized upon online and drew widespread mockery across social media.
Morgan used the moment as part of a broader challenge to the sincerity of Brand’s publicly declared Christian faith, questioning the timing of his conversion — which came approximately seven months after a 2023 documentary gave rise to the allegations against him.
The interview covered considerably more ground than the Bible exchange alone. Brand told Morgan he thinks about the possibility of going to prison “every day,” saying that if convicted he would face it “with God.” “We are going to find out the truth, and we’re going to deal with the truth,” he said. “If the truth is I am going to prison, then I am.” He acknowledged the prospect of being separated from his wife and children was not something he took lightly, but maintained his innocence throughout.
Brand also addressed his earlier public admission about sleeping with a 16-year-old girl when he was 30 — a matter entirely unconnected to the current criminal proceedings. Reports have previously indicated the pair dated for three months and that Brand sent cars to collect her from school. Asked whether he should have pursued the relationship, he said: “No, I should not have been doing that.” He maintained it had been legal at the time and place it occurred, but accepted it fell short morally. “In the place where I was, that was a legal thing to be doing, but not a morally sound thing to be doing,” he said.
Brand attempted to contextualise his past conduct, arguing that a culture which openly rewarded promiscuity had made ethical behaviour harder to sustain. He referenced The Sun’s Shagger of the Year award, which he received on multiple occasions, saying with characteristic dark humour: “Some of the glory’s faded, amidst the rape allegations, the Shagger of the Year titles do not seem quite as valuable. Some of the shine’s come off.”
He said his worldview had since shifted fundamentally, telling Morgan he now believed “the only safe place to have sex is within marriage.” His Christian faith, he said, had reshaped his values and sense of identity entirely.
The conversation was frequently fractious. Morgan asked whether Brand was a “massive grifter” who promoted views he did not genuinely hold, and noted his guest appeared “hyper sensitive” when challenged. Brand at one point attempted to take Morgan’s notes. The pair clashed over Covid vaccines — Brand refused to say whether his children had been vaccinated — and over Brand’s claim that he had been targeted by a “deep state.”
Brand is due to stand trial at Southwark Crown Court in October on charges relating to alleged offences committed between 2006 and 2010. He denies all charges.
