Russell Brand has told Piers Morgan he thinks about the possibility of going to prison “every day” as he awaits trial on sexual offence charges, while admitting in the same interview that sleeping with a 16-year-old girl when he was 30 was “not the morally sound thing to do.”
The comedian and former Hollywood star appeared on the Piers Morgan Uncensored YouTube channel, where he maintained his innocence while conceding that a guilty verdict would see him face custody alongside his faith. “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 added that wherever he ended up, he would be “with God,” though acknowledged that the prospect of being separated from his wife and children was not something he took lightly.
The relationship with the 16-year-old — which Brand has previously spoken about publicly and which forms no part of the current criminal case against him — came up during the interview. Reports have indicated the pair dated for three months and that Brand would send cars to collect her from school. Asked directly whether he should have pursued the relationship, he said simply: “No, I should not have been doing that.” He maintained that it had been legal where it took place but accepted it lacked moral justification. “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 offered context for his past conduct, arguing that a culture which openly celebrated and rewarded promiscuity had made ethical behaviour harder to sustain. He pointed to The Sun’s Shagger of the Year award, which he received on multiple occasions, saying with characteristic self-deprecation: “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 outlook had since changed fundamentally, telling Morgan he now believed “the only safe place to have sex is within marriage.” Throughout the interview, Brand had his Bible with him and read from scripture at one point, speaking at length about how his Christian faith had reshaped his values and sense of identity.
The conversation was not without friction. Morgan challenged Brand directly, asking whether he was a “massive grifter” who promoted views he did not genuinely hold, and noting that his guest appeared “hyper sensitive” when pressed. Brand at one point attempted to take Morgan’s notes. The pair also clashed over Covid vaccines — Brand refused to say whether his children had been vaccinated — and over Brand’s repeated suggestion that he had been targeted by a “deep state.”
Brand is scheduled to stand trial at Southwark Crown Court in October on three counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault and one count of indecent assault, covering allegations made by six women between 1999 and 2009. He denies all charges.
