Russell Brand Pleads With U.S. Court to Delay Sexual Assault Case as Criminal Charges Loom in the U.K.

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Just days before being slammed with criminal rape charges in Britain, star Russell Brand desperately begged a New York City judge to hit the brakes on a scandalous sexual abuse civil lawsuit against him.

Sources say the Forgetting Sarah Marshall star is deeply worried a deposition in the civil case could seriously jeopardize his defense in the ongoing criminal investigation.

“If a stay is not granted here, Mr. Brand will be forced to choose between invoking his Fifth Amendment rights, potentially impairing his defenses in this matter, or providing information in civil discovery that could be used against him in a criminal proceeding,” says his U.S. legal team.

In the civil case, a woman identified as Jane Doe accuses the comic actor of assaulting her in a bathroom and exposing himself on the set of the 2011 remake of the movie Arthur.

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Meanwhile, London’s Metropolitan Police have charged the embattled 49-year-old self-proclaimed born-again Christian with rape and sexual assault against four anonymous women at the height of his fame between 2006 and 2013.

Brand vehemently denies the accusations.

“I was a fool before I lived in the light of the Lord,” he proclaims on Instagram. “I was a drug addict, a sex addict and an imbecile, but what I never was, was a rapist.”

Complicating Brand’s legal exposure, he now fears he could also be criminally charged in the U.S.

“The fact that Mr. Brand is already facing a criminal investigation in the United Kingdom — coupled with highly publicized allegations that have been made (both by this Plaintiff and others) that Mr. Brand committed similar sexual assaults in the United States — is more than sufficient to support a ‘reasonable belief’ that he could face prosecution here,” his attorneys wrote in an April 1 filing.

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But his accuser, who filed the suit in 2023, wasn’t moved by his other legal entanglements and refused the request for a voluntary stay, signaling she’s determined to move forward with the case.

So, Brand will likely have to face justice sooner than later on both sides of the pond.

While singer Katy Perry’s ex-hubby has admitted to being quite promiscuous in the past, he insists that he never forced himself on anyone.

“During that time of promiscuity,” Brand says, “the relationships I had were absolutely always consensual.”