Brand trial: PA claims comedian's 'insane' habits were routine in dressing rooms

A former personal assistant told Southwark Crown Court on Monday that Russell Brand possessed an 'insane sexual appetite' that was treated as a normal part of his daily routine by the people around him. Helen Berger, who worked for the comedian from June 2006 to February 2007, stated that she witnessed him treat women badly and that his behavior was 'normalised and dismissed' by staff.

Brand faces three counts of rape, three of sexual assault, and one of indecent assault against six women. The allegations cover a ten-year period starting in 1999. The 51-year-old, dressed in a grey suit and white shirt, sat in the dock as the prosecution read out witness statements. He denies all charges. The trial is examining events that occurred while Brand was at the peak of his fame, juggling commitments for Channel 4, MTV, the BBC, a radio show, a national tour, and a weekly column for The Guardian.

Berger described the job as one of the hardest she had ever undertaken, citing Brand’s 'non-stop energy'. She said she left because she was 'sick of him' and burnt out. In a police statement from May 2024, she noted that while she had worked with other celebrities, the normalization of Brand's conduct was 'on another level'. She recalled that he frequently walked around in his underwear without a shirt, an attire he wore during an interview with then-girlfriend Sadie Frost.

The PA alleged that Brand was 'very open about what his needs were' and slept with people 'day and night'. She described him using the website Myspace to find women to sleep with and noted that women, including an unnamed celebrity, were often at his Camden flat. Berger said she sometimes had to keep Brand’s mother and girlfriend out of his dressing room while he was having sex. She also claimed to have heard him receiving oral sex in a toilet cubicle, identifying him by his trademark cowboy boots.

During a performance at the Edinburgh festival, Brand reportedly told the audience that anyone with 'a vagina and heartbeat' should meet him at a pub. Berger said many women showed up and she later found him in the shower at his rented apartment. She added that she never saw him break the law but did see him treat women poorly, including one instance where he abruptly stopped charming a woman who mentioned having a boyfriend.

The court also heard from the manager of an alleged victim who said Brand sexually assaulted her at Channel 4 in 2009. The manager stated that associates Jack Bayles and Gareth Roy told the woman she had to give Brand a massage or recording would stop. She alleged they watched and laughed during the assault. A sister of another alleged victim, who said Brand assaulted her at a Soho bar in 2004, told the court her sister called in tears in 2023 describing Brand’s eyes as 'completely black'.

The trial continues.