Jemima Goldsmith Accuses Russell Brand of Violence and Abuse During Their Relationship

Jemima Goldsmith, former wife of Pakistan's former prime minister Imran Khan, has accused British comedian Russell Brand of violence, coercive control and abuse during their relationship.

In a statement shared on social media on Monday, Goldsmith said she had to call the police to remove Brand from her house during a violent incident in 2014. However, she decided not to pursue legal action against him at the time.

Goldsmith, 52, said she was concerned about the impact of media attention on her teenage children and therefore chose not to press charges.

Her statement came hours after Brand, 51, was sentenced to 10-and-a-half years in prison after being convicted of rape and sexual assault involving four women.

Brand was found guilty of raping a woman at his home in 2009 and sexually assaulting three other women. The verdict followed a four-week trial at Southwark Crown Court.

Reacting to the convictions, Goldsmith said she was in awe of the women who had come forward to testify against Brand and was glad that he had finally faced justice.

She said her own experience was a difficult period in her life that had a lasting impact, although she acknowledged that her suffering was not comparable to what the women had described in court.

Goldsmith also revealed that she had not seen or spoken to Brand since 2014. However, she said she had assisted journalists investigating allegations against him and had been willing to testify about his behaviour if he had taken legal action against them.

The former television producer also addressed reports about an injunction obtained by her and Brand in October 2015 against a woman named Szilvia Berki.

The injunction prevented Berki from harassing them, including through allegations of assault involving Brand at Goldsmith's home in 2014.

According to Goldsmith, Berki visited her house on June 7, 2014, for around 30 minutes to give Brand a massage. She said the massage did not take place after she arrived.

Goldsmith said Berki later told police that Brand had pushed her in the back while she was leaving and that Goldsmith's dog had attacked her. Goldsmith said she did not witness anything inappropriate during the encounter.

She added that police reviewed her statement and CCTV footage before concluding that there was no case to answer.

Goldsmith further accused Berki of sending her threatening and antisemitic messages and publishing false allegations about her on social media. She said she subsequently agreed to seek an injunction on the advice of Brand's lawyer to prevent harassment.

She claimed that recent media coverage of the injunction had exposed her to online abuse and hatred.

Rosamund Urwin, chief news correspondent at The Sunday Times, who was involved in the 2023 media investigation into Brand, told the BBC that Goldsmith had provided significant assistance to journalists.

Urwin said she had seen the online abuse directed at Goldsmith and believed the circumstances surrounding the injunction were more complicated than many people understood.

She also praised Goldsmith for speaking publicly about her experience.

During Brand's sentencing hearing, the court heard victim impact statements from the women involved in the case.

One woman said she had remained upset and traumatised for years following the incident and had struggled with her self-respect.

The woman Brand was convicted of raping said the trauma was something she had to carry every day.

The judge, while delivering the sentence, said Brand had shown an arrogant disregard for women's right to refuse consent and had acted as though his fame allowed him to behave however he wanted.

A vehicle believed to be carrying Brand was seen arriving at HMP Wandsworth in London following the sentencing hearing.

Under sentencing guidelines, offenders convicted of certain serious violent or sexual offences and sentenced to four years or more can be released after serving two-thirds of their prison term. In Brand's case, this would amount to seven years.

Following his release, he is expected to serve the remainder of his sentence under licence and comply with specific conditions, including wearing an electronic monitoring tag.

Brand was convicted of offences involving four women between 2004 and 2009. However, he was found not guilty of two counts of rape and one count of attempted indecent assault.

Jemima Goldsmith is the daughter of late billionaire businessman Sir James Goldsmith and the sister of former Conservative government minister Zac Goldsmith. She was married to former Pakistani prime minister and cricketer Imran Khan before their separation.