— The former partner of the British comedian says she endured violence and coercive control during their relationship but stayed silent to protect her children
— She also reveals how she helped journalists investigate Brand and clarifies her controversial role in a harassment injunction against a massage therapist
By Irum Saleem
Jemima Goldsmith, former partner of British comedian Russell Brand, has broken her decade-long silence about their relationship, alleging that she experienced violence, coercive control and abuse, including a violent incident in 2014 that forced her to call the police to have him removed from her home.
Her revelations came hours after Brand was sentenced to 10 years and six months in prison for rape and sexual assaults involving four women.
In a lengthy statement on X, Goldsmith said she had always stood firmly with Brand’s victims and was in awe of the women who came forward, testified and helped secure his conviction.
“I have had my own personal experience of his violence, coercive control and abuse,” she wrote, adding that she had decided against pressing charges or going public at the time because she feared the impact of media attention on her teenage children.
The 52-year-old television producer said she had neither seen nor spoken to Brand since the events of 2014. Although her own experience was less severe than what the women had described in court, she said the period had left a lasting impact on her life.
Goldsmith, who dated Brand for about a year from 2013, also disclosed that she had assisted journalists who eventually exposed the comedian through an investigation published in 2023 by Channel 4’s Dispatches and reports in The Times and The Sunday Times.
She said she had even undertaken to testify in court about Brand’s abusive behaviour if the newspaper publishing the victims’ accounts had faced legal action.
“I am glad and relieved that Russell Brand has finally faced justice,” she said.
Clarification over controversial injunction
Goldsmith’s statement also sought to counter what she described as an “untrue narrative” surrounding a harassment injunction obtained by her and Brand against massage therapist Szilvia Berki, following an incident at her Oxfordshire home in June 2014.
Berki had been booked to give Brand a massage at Goldsmith’s residence and subsequently made allegations against him to the police. Police reportedly found no case to answer.
Goldsmith said she was present throughout the massage appointment and did not witness anything untoward. She added that she would never hesitate to intervene if she witnessed a man abusing a woman.
She said Berki later circulated what she described as untrue allegations about her and subjected her and her family to threatening online abuse and emails.
Having previously experienced stalking, Goldsmith said she feared Berki could pose a danger to her family.
Although she was no longer in contact with Brand at the time, she agreed to his lawyer’s suggestion that they seek a harassment injunction against Berki, saying her sole intention was to protect herself and her family.
Goldsmith further disclosed that in December 2025 she had instructed her lawyer to approach Berki’s barrister and agree to vary the injunction so that the massage therapist could speak to police again if she wished.
However, she said she was informed that any change required Brand’s agreement as well, adding that she had no means of compelling him because she had not seen or spoken to him in more than a decade.
She also complained that renewed media coverage of the injunction had triggered online hatred and abuse against her.
Brand’s conviction and sentence
Brand, 51, was convicted by a jury at Southwark Crown Court of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault involving four women between 2004 and 2009.
He was acquitted of two additional rape charges and one count of attempted indecent assault.
The sentencing judge criticised Brand’s apparent disregard for women’s right to refuse sexual advances, observing that his fame had seemingly made him believe he could act as he pleased.
Brand’s legal team has 28 days to seek permission to appeal against his conviction or sentence.
He must serve at least two-thirds of his prison term before becoming eligible for parole.
