Russell Brand is alleged to have told friends he wanted to “bed 5,000 women in his lifetime” by the prosecution as his trial opened this morning.
The comedian, 51, denies three charges of rape, three counts of sexual assault and one allegation of indecent assault relating to six women in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
The trial started at Southwark Crown Court on Wednesday, with the prosecution opening its case to a jury of eight men and four women.
The former Big Brother’s Big Mouth presenter is alleged to have been a “ruthless, calculating and manipulative” sexual predator and “bragged” he was “a ladies’ man, a womaniser and an expert pick-up artist”, the court heard.
The jurors were selected on Tuesday, when Mr Justice Bennathan warned them to ignore past reporting on the celebrity.
Brand, who lives in Florida, became one of Britain’s best-known comedians in the 2000s and won presenting roles including the 2007 Brit Awards, Comic Relief and the MTV Music Video Awards, and hosted his own show on BBC Radio 2.
The trial is scheduled to last six to eight weeks.
Brand was 'unhappy' and requested a massage from his final alleged victim
The final alleged victim, a Channel 4 worker, accuses Brand of sexual assault as he was filming for a project in 2009.
Ms Karmy-Jones said while he was filming, he was “friendly and nice” with children who were present, but became “angry, fed up, and petulant” when they left.
She said the woman was informed Brand was “unhappy” and the situation would not improve unless she gave him a massage.
The prosecutor said: “She thought they must be joking but then realised they meant it.
“She said no, and they said she had to.”
Ms Karmy-Jones told jurors Brand walked up to a chair the woman was sitting on and placed his head directly into her groin area.
Women 'meant nothing to him in the end', prosecution alleges
After outlining the allegations made by the woman who met Brand at the Hammersmith Apollo, Ms Karmy-Jones said the women he came across “meant nothing to him in the end”.
She told jurors: “That offence was in early 2009. Later that same year, Mr Brand continued to act in the same vein.
“He had the mindset, you may think, of someone who would use his best endeavours – whether that be telling women what they wanted to hear, whether it be by using his celebrity status or simply force – to get what he wanted regardless of the views or protestations of the women involved.
“The women that he was coming across meant nothing to him in the end.”
Woman 'blamed herself for what happened'
The court heard the alleged victim “blamed herself” and “hated herself for what had happened”.
Ms Karmy-Jones told jurors: “She was encouraged to do something about it, but she felt anxious and unwell.
“She blamed herself for what happened, and she didn’t want to become known and defined by what Mr Brand had done to her.
“In her words, she hated herself for what had happened.
“She spent months and years blaming herself for what had happened, and became extremely anxious and continued to be unwell as a result.”
Brand told alleged victim to take a shower, court hears
Ms Karmy-Jones said: “She was in a relationship… so, justifying it to herself at the time as ‘not being quite so bad’, foolishly perhaps, she did agree to perform oral sex on him.”
The prosecutor said the woman felt “regret” and that Brand told her “we are all free beings, we all want to give love”.
Afterwards, Brand asked her for her phone number, and she did despite feeling “awful”, “ashamed of herself” and “kind of disgusted”.
On another day, she was collected by a driver and taken to Mr Brand’s address, the court heard.
The prosecutor said that she went to his bedroom with him but was told by Brand “your hair smells funny”.
He told her to have a shower, and despite “feeling uncomfortable” she did, as the request “made her feel grubby and dirty”.
“The defendant stood outside the glass shower cubicle and watched her, she felt as if he was administering her and how she was taking a shower,” Ms Karmy-Jones added.
She said she had consensual vaginal intercourse with Brand, but alleged he then removed the condom and anally raped her.
'My age range is 16 to death,' Brand allegedly said
The fifth complainant “admired and fancied” Brand, who was by then a rising comedy star, when she went to see him perform in 2009, Ms Karmy-Jones said.
He allegedly told the audience that if any of them fancy him “you probably can have sex with me. My age range is from 16 to death”.
As she was leaving through the venue foyer, Brand pointed at her and said “you” before she was invited to have drinks at the backstage bar, the court heard.
Later, the woman had a consensual threesome with Mr Brand in his dressing room.
“Mr Brand was someone she greatly admired and fancied – she was star-struck,” Ms Karmy-Jones said.
Court has now paused for a short break
The court paused for a short break after outlining the sexual assault allegations made by the fourth complainant.
Fourth alleged victim 'pushed Brand away and told him to f** k off'
Speaking of the fourth complainant, the prosecutor added: “While this was happening, she looked to the woman that he was with, hoping she would intervene but neither the men or the woman did anything.
“She finally managed to push him away, saying words to him to the effect of ‘f** k off’.
“Mr Brand stumbled backwards at that final push and just sniggered – like it was a joke.”
The prosecutor told jurors that the women in the case “meant nothing to him”.
She added: “Perhaps he found their protestations amusing, funny? Funny as a display for his friends.
“The other men who were with him also joined in the laughter.”
She said the fourth complainant was left feeling “dirty and disgusting”, adding: “She was shocked at what had just happened – she was in complete disbelief that not one of the people with Mr Brand had tried to help her or to stop it.”
Fourth alleged assault was 'rough, fast and frenzied', court told
Ms Karmy-Jones then took jurors to the fourth alleged victim, who was in her 20s and working at a radio station in 2004 or 2005 when Brand allegedly sexually assaulted her after she had left a room while at work.
The prosecutor said: “(Brand) was with a woman and some men at the time. She had not met him previously, but she knew who he was, as his star was ascending, and he was becoming increasingly well known at this time, not least from being on a spin-off television show from Big Brother.”
When the woman left the room, Brand is said to have “instantly grabbed her by the face with both hands” and allegedly “pushed her up against a wall, where he kissed her ‘sloppily and aggressively’.”
“It was rough, fast and frenzied,” she added.
Defendant was 'rude and dismissive'
Brand allegedly “looked straight through” the man who asked “are you OK” to the woman who accuses the celebrity of rape in Soho.
Ms Karmy-Jones said: “Mr Brand looked straight through him with a blank expression and carried on walking past after he said hello.
She added: “Mr Brand was quite rude and dismissive, just saying ‘contact my agent we should catch up’ and continued walking away.”
Brand told alleged victim 'not to be a spoil sport'
Brand’s third alleged victim “found herself at the bar talking to him about Big Brother” before he “lunged” forward and grabbed her breasts during an incident in Soho in July 2004.
Ms Karmy-Jones told the court: “She was shocked and remembers that he had a ‘big, weird grin’ on his face as he did so. Mr Brand then grabbed her arm and held her quite strongly and pulled her into the lavatory, the toilets, which were close to the bar, just behind and to the side of where Mr Brand was standing.”
Before the alleged oral rape, the woman said, “What are you doing – I don’t want to do this”, the court heard.
Ms Karmy-Jones told jurors: “He just said ‘Oh come on don’t be a spoil sport, you want to’ or something along those lines.”
Brand continued to look in the prosecutor’s direction and listened intently to her opening.
The alleged victim “froze and didn’t know what to do”, the court heard.
Ms Karmy-Jones told jurors that after Brand let her go, “(The alleged victim) went and started banging on the door – her hands were shaking and she couldn’t get the lock open, and she remembers a man’s voice on the other side of the door saying ‘are you OK?’
“Mr Brand just left.”