Russell Brand tried to block rape trial before it even began
Russell Brand tried to smear journalists as “criminals” in a doomed bid to avoid standing trial, it can now be revealed.
Before his trial began at Southwark Crown Court, Brand tried to persuade a judge that he had been on the receiving end of such a fearsome character assassination that he could not possibly have a fair trial.
“The conduct of Channel 4, Hardcash Productions – the makers of the documentary – and the Sunday Times newspaper in publishing the anonymous allegations against the defendant was, and remains, unlawful and criminal,” argued Mr Winter.
However, his bid failed when the judge simply ruled the jury could be made up of people who had not seen the 2023 media reporting. He rubbished Brand’s claim that the former comedian’s reputation had been “destroyed”, pointing to a sell-out Wembley show he performed after being publicly accused of rape.