Court appearance deepens uncertainty over Russell Brand’s legal timetable as he pleads not guilty to new rape and sexual assault charges

Mo. Basuony

Published: February 24, 2026 11:58 AM ET

For readers tracking the case, the central question is how the new counts will affect the path to trial. russell brand, aged 50, entered not-guilty pleas to two further sexual offence charges at Southwark Crown Court on Tuesday, and those allegations are said to relate to incidents in the city in 2009 involving two women. What remains unclear is how those fresh claims will be linked to the earlier set of charges and what that means for the June trial already on the schedule.

What remains unclear about Russell Brand’s charges and timetable

Key procedural points are unsettled. A hearing will decide whether the new allegations should be joined to the original case; the defence requested more time to address the fresh allegations. Two separate court accounts named different judicial figures while setting a case-management hearing for March: Recorder Andrew Baumgartner and Mr Justice Bennathan are both referenced as saying a March management hearing will take place. A trial date in June is listed for the original charges, but how the additional counts affect that timetable is not resolved in the provided context.

Implication: joining the new allegations to the existing case could lengthen pre-trial procedures or require a single consolidated trial; the logistics are still unsettled.
Who is directly affected beyond Brand: the alleged complainants and the court calendar for Southwark Crown Court.
Signal to watch for confirmation: the March case-management hearing and any formal ruling on whether the new counts will be joined.
The real question now is how evidence and witness lists might be consolidated if the cases are joined.

The bigger signal here is that multiple procedural touchpoints — bail conditions, case-management hearings in March, and a trial scheduled for June — will shape whether the public timetable stays intact or shifts.

Event details in context: counts, years and the total pleaded not guilty

The most recent appearance added one count of rape and one count of sexual assault, both alleged to have taken place in 2009 and said to relate to two women. Those two charges bring the running total of not-guilty pleas to seven, when combined with the earlier five counts. The earlier set comprises two counts of rape, one count of indecent assault and two counts of sexual assault, alleged between 1999 and 2005 and said to involve four women. The fresh charges were laid after an investigation and were brought in December; the five earlier charges were announced in April of the previous year. A trial is scheduled for June to hear the original charges; a separate decision will be made on whether the new allegations are joined to that trial.

Courtroom appearance and behaviour: what observers noted

Accounts from the hearing describe the 50-year-old broadcaster, actor and media personality entering the glass-fronted dock wearing a fedora-style hat and sunglasses, with descriptions of his shirt varying between leopard-print and tiger-print. He was described as wearing a partially unbuttoned shirt with several buttons undone at points, and in some accounts he wore dangling necklaces and a light-coloured monogrammed fedora. He carried a copy of the Bible into the building with pages bookmarked or decorated with colourful post-it notes; in one account a dock officer removed the Bible before the hearing started, and in others he clutched the Bible as he left. From the dock he spoke to confirm his name and entered not-guilty pleas to the two additional charges.

Background details included in the provided coverage note that Brand was born in Essex, rose to public attention as a stand-up comedian and a host of TV spin-off shows such as Big Brother's Big Mouth and Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack, presented radio programmes on national stations in the 2000s, and later appeared in films including Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Get Him To The Greek. Personal details in the presented accounts say he was married to Katy Perry from 2010 to 2012 and is now married to Laura Gallacher, sister of the TV presenter Kirsty; the couple are said to have three children.

Bail, exit and outside-court incidents; next procedural steps

Brand was granted bail and bailed to appear at Southwark Crown Court at a date to be fixed. Judges in separate accounts indicated a case-management hearing in March; one judge is named as Recorder Andrew Baumgartner and another as Mr Justice Bennathan. The defendant’s lawyer asked for more time to address the fresh allegations. As he left the court building following the short hearing, he was picked up in a black Mercedes and there was a brief scuffle between his security and a cameraman outside.

If you’re wondering why this keeps coming up: detectives began investigating allegations into Brand following reporting in 2023, and the new counts were brought against him after that inquiry. The trial scheduled for June is aimed at the original charges, while the March management hearing will help determine whether the new allegations are folded into that schedule.

Micro timeline (as stated in the provided context):

Alleged offences cited between 1999 and 2005 (relating to four women).
Additional alleged offences dated to 2009 (relating to two women).
Fresh charges were brought in December; five earlier charges were announced in April last year.
Case-management hearing set for March; a trial on the original charges is scheduled for June.

The accounts presented here stick strictly to the facts in the available coverage; details may evolve as the court process continues and as the March case-management hearing approaches.