Russell Brand has acknowledged having what he called “exploitative” consensual sex with a 16-year-old girl when he was 30 years old, making the admission during an appearance on the “Megyn Kelly Show” as he awaits trial on rape and sexual assault charges in Britain.
The English comedian and podcaster, now 50, confirmed the relationship in an episode of the YouTube program published Wednesday, noting that the age of consent in the United Kingdom is 16. He framed the encounter as legal but morally troubling given the power imbalance involved.
“The plain fact of it is, in Europe and in the United Kingdom, where I’m from, the age of consent is 16. And I did sleep with a 16-year-old when I was 30,” Mr. Brand said. “But when I was 30, I was a very different person. I was a lot younger, and I was an immature 30-year-old.”
He went on to say that consensual sex involving a “strong power differential” — such as that afforded by celebrity — amounts to exploitation. “I recognize that my sexual conduct in the past was selfish and I did not apply enough consideration, barely any I suppose, really, to how that sex was affecting other people,” he added.
The UK age of consent is 16, with exceptions for adults in positions of trust, such as teachers, doctors or coaches, for whom the threshold rises to 18.
Mr. Brand’s trial at Southwark Crown Court is scheduled to begin Oct. 12 and is expected to last approximately two months. He faces seven charges in total — three counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault and one count of indecent assault — brought by six women. Prosecutors first authorized charges tied to four women alleging incidents between 1999 and 2005, then later authorized two additional charges involving two more women over alleged 2009 offenses. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Among the allegations, Mr. Brand is accused of raping a woman in a hotel room during a Labour Party conference in Bournemouth; grabbing a TV worker’s forearm and attempting to drag her into a men’s restroom at a television studio in London in 2001; orally raping a separate TV worker he met at a bar in Soho in 2004 after pulling her into a restroom; and forcibly kissing and groping a radio employee after pinning her against a wall.
Mr. Brand, who rose to fame hosting “Big Brother’s Big Mouth” and “Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack” and starred in films including “Get Him to the Greek,” has reinvented himself in recent years as a right-leaning media personality and born-again Christian. He was baptized with the help of Bear Grylls in 2024 and spoke at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest 2025 in Phoenix. He currently lives in the United States but maintains a home in Buckinghamshire, England, and remains on bail pending trial.
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