Russell Brand’s behaviour was ‘on another level’ and he was sleeping with people ‘day and night’, assistant claims

Russell Brand’s behaviour was ‘on another level’ and he was sleeping with people ‘day and night’, assistant claims The comedian had an ‘insane sexual appetite’ and would often be in his underwear at his flat, the court heard - Bookmark Become an Independent member to bookmark this article Already a member? Log in Russell Brand’s bad behaviour was on “another level” and he was sleeping with women “day and night”, his former personal assistant told the court on Monday. Helen Berger, who worked for the comedian between June 2006 and February 2007, described the role as “one of the hardest jobs I did” and recalled he was always in his underwear when she went to his flat. “When I went to Russell’s flat he was always in his underwear as he loved walking around in his underwear with no shirt on,” she said in a statement read to Southwark Crown Court by junior prosecution counsel Suki Dhadda. The assistant said the star had “nonstop energy” and it was “a lot to deal with” as she helped him manage a busy workload at the height of his fame, including a national comedy tour, TV shows, a BBC radio show, a Guardian column, writing a book as well as press and media engagements. “In addition to his busy work schedule Russell always had an insane sexual appetite and was sleeping with people day and night,” the court heard. She said she had never witnessed Brand doing anything against the law, but added: “Though I had worked with celebrities before and seen a lot of people normalising bad behaviour, this was on another level. “I think everyone else normalising and dismissing Russell’s behaviour made me think I guess, this is just the way he is.” The former Big Brother’s Big Mouth presenter and Hollywood actor denies three charges of rape, three counts of sexual assault, and one allegation of indecent assault in alleged attacks against six women between 1999 and 2009. The 51-year-old sat motionless in the dock, wearing a grey suit and white shirt, as his former assistant’s account was read to the jury. His wife, Laura Gallacher, followed proceedings from the public gallery. Ms Berger said women would arrive at his flat during the day and “it was clear they were there for sex”. “He often met women online and I think he often used MySpace for this,” she said. “He was like a peacock and women always approached him.” On one occasion she was told to take his mother and girlfriend to the greenroom during a show because he was having sex in his dressing room, the court heard. During an early morning visit to his north London flat she saw a female celebrity asleep in Brand’s bed, Ms Berger added. The assistant claimed that during one show, Brand closed a performance by telling female audience members where he would be drinking afterwards. “Russell would end his show in Edinburgh ‘if you have a vagina and a heartbeat I will be in this pub afterwards’,” she said. “And many, many women would show up.” On another occasion, while filming for MTV, the star asked her to get phone numbers from female fans, which made her feel “really weird” and she later told him she would not do it again, Ms Berger added. “I did see Russell treat women poorly,” she said. Recalling one moment in which he realised a woman he was speaking to at an afterparty was in a relationship, she added: “He just switched off his charm and moved on to the next woman.” Ms Berger said she quit her job after nine months when she was “sick” of Brand and “feeling burned out”. The jury also heard a statement from the sister of one complainant, who alleges Brand dragged her into the toilet of a Soho bar and forced her to perform a sex act in 2004. She described her sister as “very subdued, distant and not her usual self” the following morning. “I asked whether she’d had a good night out and she said no, Russell Brand had pulled her into a toilet, locked the door and tried to assault her,” the court heard. The witness said her sister described the comedian’s eyes as being “completely blank” during the alleged attack, adding: “She said his eyes had gone completely blank and it was like he had been possessed or had been a completely different person.” The trial continues.