In 2023, Warner Bros. Discovery was named as a co-defendant when an extra in the film Arthur sued Russell Brand for sexual assault. In the case, Jane Doe alleged that Brand “exposed his penis to me on the set and in full view of the cast and crew,” adding that the actor later “assaulted me as a member of the production crew guarded the door from the outside.” Brand denied the allegations at the time. When her identity was revealed to him under seal, he claimed to have no recollection of ever interacting with her. But a recent progression of the case finds Warner Bros. offering to submit hours of unseen footage from the set for evidence.
According to The Times, Patrick Lamparello, an attorney who represents Warner Bros, said the company is in possession of “four or five hours, it could be more, around eight,” hours of outtake footage from Arthur. The film was released in 2011 and was shot in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Police Department is not currently investigating Brand. Last week, the actor was charged with rape, indecent assault, and sexual assault in connection to incidents involving four women in the U.K. between 1999 to 2005. The Jane Doe assault case was submitted in New York.
In the lawsuit, the actress alleged that Warner Bros. Pictures, Warner Bros. Discovery, Bender-Spink, and Langley Park Pictures —the co-defendants in the case — either had employees on set the day she was allegedly assaulted, or at least bear some responsibility for what she claims transpired. Warner Bros. also denied the allegations at the time.
Brand’s legal representatives have expressed concern about the overlap in these assault cases, stating there is “reasonable belief criminal prosecution is possible in the US based on allegations tantamount to criminal sexual misconduct occurring in the US, of which he has been falsely accused both by this civil plaintiff and several others through the media.” Last week, Judge Shlomo Hagler rejected a request from Brand’s legal team to delay proceedings in the New York case.
“I’ve always told you guys that when I was young and single before I had my wife and family … I was a fool, man,” Brand said last week in response to the U.K. charges. “I was a fool before I lived in the light of the Lord. I was a drug addict, a sex addict, and an imbecile. But what I never was, was a rapist. I’ve never engaged in nonconsensual activity. I pray that you can see that by looking in my eyes.” He is expected to appear before the Westminster Magistrates’ Court on May 2.
From Rolling Stone US
