Woman tells Russell Brand trial the comedian treated her 'like an animal'

A woman testified on Wednesday at Southwark crown court in London that British comedian and TV personality Russell Brand, 51, raped her at his home, leaving her feeling degraded and treated like "a piece of meat". The trial continues.

The charges

Brand faces three charges of rape, three of sexual assault and one of indecent assault, involving six women. The allegations span ten years, from 1999 to 2009. He denies all of them. He listened closely from the dock as the woman gave evidence from behind a screen.

In this part of the case, he is accused of raping the woman at his three-storey Victorian townhouse in Hampstead, north-west London. Prosecutors say he singled her out from the audience at one of his stand-up shows at the Hammersmith Apollo in early 2009.

The woman's evidence

The woman told police she was a big fan of Brand and had performed oral sex on him after the show, even though she had a boyfriend at the time. Days later she went to his home, knowing she would have vaginal sex with him. She alleges that after consensual vaginal sex, Brand raped her anally. She says she repeatedly begged him to stop and was left bleeding and in pain for days.

Months later she met Brand at the Edinburgh Festival, and he sent her a text: "You're dirty and I wanna push you further." She replied that he had treated her like an animal, and Brand answered: "I'm sorry."

Cross-examination

Brand's barrister, Ian Winter KC, put it to her that she had agreed to anal sex. She rejected this, saying: "I didn't consent to what happened to me." She acknowledged she had not portrayed herself in a good light, but said the court was not there to discuss her morality. She explained that she could not speak or breathe at first, and that she carried guilt and shame afterwards.