Russell Brand stripped half-naked and performed silly walks “like Basil Fawlty” before raping a woman he met at the Labour Party conference, a court has heard.
Brand, 51, is accused of being a “ruthless predator” who used women to satisfy his “huge sexual appetite”, and attacked those who tried to resist his advances.
Prosecutors say Brand used comedy and charm in pursuit of an aim to sleep with 5,000 women, and had a “child-like expectation that his every desire should be met”.
Southwark Crown Court heard Brand is accused of raping a woman he had met after she watched him perform a cabaret show on the fringes of the 1999 Labour Party conference in Bournemouth.
Court artist sketch of Russell Brand appearing in the dock (Elizabeth Cook/PA)
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Prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones KC told jurors the woman initially thought Brand was gay, and invited him to her hotel room to continue their conversation.
She says he emerged topless from the toilet and “was prancing around the room, a bit like an ostrich, doing silly walks like Basil Fawlty”.
The prosecutor said: “She was taken aback, she was shocked and she didn’t really know what to do – and in her words she froze a bit.
“She asked him why he had taken his clothes off, and he said something along the lines of ‘It’s OK, it’s just how I am, don’t worry…. I’m mostly naked at home’.”
Prosecuting KC Riel Karmy-Jones KC speaking, as Russell Brand appears in the dock during jury selection (Elizabeth Cook/PA)
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The woman said she found Brand “polite, courteous and complimentary about her” when they had first met after the show, describing him as having a “gentlemanly way”.
“She assumed he was gay, he gave no indication of being attracted to her,” said Ms Karmy-Jones, who told the jury Brand would try to make women laugh and show interest in their causes in his pursuit of sex.
“Above all, she was excited by the fact that she could have such an intelligent conversation with a man, a man who was displaying an interest in what she had to say.”
Later in the hotel room, the woman says she took photographs of a topless Brand at his request, before he “pushed her onto the bed”.
“She remembers the weight of him on top of her, she couldn’t move, and was finding it hard to breathe, but recalls trying not to let him kiss her, and saying ‘no’.”
The prosecutor said the woman recalled Brand’s tongue feeling “like a lizard” as he raped her.
Afterwards, she says Brand “behaved as if nothing had happened” and suggested that his mother would like to meet her.
Brand’s flatmate at the time, Mark Pinheiro, says Brand was “desperate” to have sex as they headed to the Labour Party conference in 1999, jurors heard.
“He found a victim, engaged with her, told her ‘exactly what she needed to hear’, and then manipulated the situation so as to have sex with her”, said Ms Karmy-Jones.
The court heard Mr Pinheiro claims Brand had called himself “a ladies’ man” and an “expert pick-up artist” as they headed to the conference, and said he “wanted to bed 5,000 women in his lifetime”.
Russell Brand (centre) arriving at Southwark Crown Court (Ben Whitley/PA)
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The court heard Mr Pinheiro says Brand returned to their flat after allegedly raping the woman, telling them to “pack up their stuff” because they “had to leave town immediately”.
Ms Karmy-Jones said: “Once in the car, the defendant behaved oddly, shrinking down in the back seat to hide his head beneath the window.
“When pressed about where he had been the night before, and why they had to leave so abruptly, he said he had forgotten he had an audition.”
Brand is charged with seven alleged offences – three counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault, and one allegation of indecent assault.
He denies all the charges.
Prosecutors say the comedian-turned-podcaster had an “indiscriminate and voracious” desire for sex, and would use his humour and charm on women that he encountered.
He had a “child-like in his expectation that his every desire should be met”, said Ms Karmy-Jones, who dubbed him a “ruthless, calculated, and manipulative” sexual predator.
A woman who previously worked at MTV with Brand claims he once tried to drag her into a toilet cubicle, the court heard.
The prosecutor said she had complimented his “I Am Spartacus” t-shirt in the moments before the alleged incident in 2001.
Ms Karmy-Jones said the women came forward to police after seeing media reports about Brand.
Brand faces three charges of rape, indecent assault, and three counts of sexual assault, relating to six women (PA)
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Brand, when questioned by police, gave prepared statements and insisted that all sexual contact with women had been consensual.
The Essex-born comedian was once a fixture in the British media, presenting on Channel 4 and fronting his own BBC Radio 2 show.
He presented the Brit Awards, Comic Relief and the MTV Music Video Awards, and also took on starring roles in Hollywood films such as Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Rock Of Ages, and Arthur.
Brand, who has become a podcaster in recent years, now lives in Florida in the US and was accompanied to court by his wife Laura Gallacher.
The trial continues.