By Lucy Caulkett-
Russell Brand has shockingly responded to an allegation by his accuser of having a faulty memory.
Rather than accusing the woman of making a malicious allegation, the former comedian incredibly claims his accuser’s memory of a detailed incident may have lapsed.
Brand worked on BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 6 Music programmes from 2006-2008.
He left Radio 2 in 2008 after he and guest Jonathan Ross made headlines for leaving a “lewd” voicemail for Fawlty Towers actor Andrew Sachs about his granddaughter, with whom Brand was in a relationship.
The BBC, shortly after the original allegations were announced, removed some of Brand’s content from its iPlayer and Sounds app, saying it “now falls below public expectations”.
Director-general Tim Davie has ordered a review into Brand’s two-year career at the BBC, and said of the presenter’s broadcasts: “When I listened back, frankly… I think, that is just completely unacceptable. What led to that being on air?
He is accused of sexually assaulting an extra on a film set in a civil lawsuit filed in the US.
During filming for the rom-com Arthur in July 2010 the comedian is alleged to have exposed himself to the anonymous woman before following her into a bathroom and sexually assaulting her.
Brand ,who at the time was engaged to singer Katy Perry, has also faced a number of other allegations of improper behaviour, including rape and emotional abuse between 2006 and 2013
British police have said they are investigating a number of claims made against Brand, but the case, filed with New York State Supreme Court on Friday, marks the first time any such accusations have been made in a lawsuit.
In an affidavit, the woman – referred to as Jane Doe – claims the actor had “appeared intoxicated, smelled of alcohol, and was carrying a bottle of vodka on set” before the assault on 7 July 2010.
He then exposed himself to his accuser in full view of the cast and crew, the papers say.
Later the same day the plaintiff says Brand entered the bathroom after her and assaulted her as “a member of production crew guarded the door from outside”. Film studio Warner Bros Pictures and other companies involved in the production are also named as defendants.
Russell says the vodka bottle was just a prop for the film … and contained no real booze.
The woman claims Russell followed her into a bathroom where he sexually assaulted her … but he says that’s not true either, claiming her memory is “faulty.”
The woman says as a result of the alleged abuse she suffers from extreme embarrassment, shame and fear as well as finding it difficult to trust others.
She says she has professional concerns about being named in association with the case as she still works as an actor and fears she could be “blacklisted in the industry”.
She is seeking unspecified damages from the British actor.
The document says she was initially booked for three days but after the assault was not brought back for the following days and paid only for one.
She also fears harassment from his followers should her identity be revealed, the papers say.
The case has been filed under the Adult Survivor’s Act, New York legislation which allows alleged victims of sexual offences for which the statute of limitations has passed to file civil suits for a one-year period between 24 November 2022 and 24 November 2023.
Allegations from four women towards Brand were first made in a joint investigation by the Sunday Times, Times and Channel 4’s Dispatches.
They claimed the actor had sexually assaulted them in the UK and Los Angeles during a seven-year period, between 2006 and 2013, when he held high-profile jobs at BBC Radio 2, Channel 4 and as a Hollywood actor.
A day before the media investigation into Brand was published online, the comedian shared a video on social media where he denied the allegations.
In it, he denied “serious criminal allegations” he said were to be made.
Brand appeared on his Youtube Channel several times to deny the allegations.
Youtube, Acast and Paramount suspended the monetization of advertisement on his channel.