Hollywood star turned MAGA pundit Russell Brand convicted of rape: report

Hollywood star turned right-wing commentator Russell Brand has been convicted of rape and sexual assault by a London jury.

Jurors at Southwark Crown Court returned guilty verdicts Thursday on one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault, TMZ reported. The jury found him not guilty of two other rape charges and one count of attempted indecent assault. Brand, 51, had denied all the charges.

The judge signaled that prison time is all but certain. “Obviously a custodial sentence of some length will result,” the judge told Brand after the verdict. He is scheduled to be sentenced Monday.

Best known for Hollywood comedies like "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" and "Get Him to the Greek," Brand reinvented himself in recent years as an online commentator popular on the right, building a massive following with anti-establishment videos. Deadline described him as a “MAGA outrider,” and after he was charged last year, Fox News host turned podcaster Tucker Carlson called on the Trump administration to “rescue” him from what Carlson called “political and absurd” charges.

The trial featured testimony from several women who accused Brand of sexual misconduct, according to TMZ. One accuser, recalling an alleged 1999 assault, described his behavior as “lizard-like.” Another told jurors that after Brand raped her, he said he wanted to “push [her] further.”

During the trial, the judge ordered a not-guilty verdict on one count of indecent assault, and prosecutors then brought a new charge of attempted indecent assault, on which the jury acquitted him.

TMZ reported that Laura Brand, his wife, backed him throughout the proceedings and took the stand in his defense. She described him as a wonderful father and an “amazing, attentive husband.”