Jemima Goldsmith Accuses Ex-Partner Russell Brand of Abuse

Russell Brand is now behind bars. Yesterday, he received a prison sentence of ten years and six months after being found guilty of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault. The judge at the sentencing hearing told Brand that he harboured a “casual arrogant disregard to any woman’s right to say no to you”, while his fame meant he believed “you could act when you liked and how you liked”.

The chances are high that there are many other victims who have yet to come forward. We know that Brand is being investigated for at least two other accusations of rape. Yesterday, amid the sentencing coverage, one of Brand’s most high-profile ex-partners spoke up about her own experiences with him.

Jemima Goldsmith, the writer-producer and one-time wife of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, took to Twitter to share her story. In a lengthy statement, she wrote:

Firstly, and most importantly, I am and have always been strongly and unequivocally on the side of all of Brand’s victims. I am in awe of the courageous women who came forward at Brand’s trial, told their stories, testified and ensured justice was done. I have had my own personal experience of his violence, coercive control and abuse. I had to call the police to have him removed from my house in 2014 during a violent incident. I chose not to press charges at the time and not to go public with this, as I was worried about the impact of the press attention on my then teenage children. I have neither seen nor spoken to Brand since that period in 2014. Whilst my pain in relation to this, pales in comparison to what the women have testified in court have suffered, this was a difficult period in my life which has had a lasting impact.

Over several years, I assisted the journalists who finally exposed him; Ros Urwin, Louisa Compton and Dorothy Byrne. I also undertook to testify in court to his abusiveness, if the newspaper that published the victims’ accounts were ever to be sued.

Goldsmith said she was sharing this because of an “untrue narrative” surrounding her and Brand regarding a 2014 injunction the pair took out against a woman named Szilvia Berki, which was made final in 2015. Some reporters have wondered if this extremely strict injunction, which seemed to prevent Berki from talking to anyone about her experiences with Brand, was a cover-up of another instance of abuse. Goldsmith claims that this was not the case, and that Berki had “embarked on a campaign of vicious antisemitic and threatening abuse online and in emails.”

She added, “Although I was at this point no longer in contact with Brand, I agreed to the suggestion by his lawyer of a harassment order. My sole reason was to stop Ms Berki targeting me and my family. The harassment injunction was upheld by the High Court and Court of Appeal on several occasions.”

Goldsmith ended her statement by saying, “I am glad and relieved that Russell Brand has finally faced justice.”