Russell Brand claimed to have ‘armour of God’ during rape trial

Russell Brand claimed to have felt the “presence of God” in the courtroom, on his Christian podcast which he continued to record while standing trial for rape and sexual assault.

Brand told reporters repeatedly that he was “blessed” as he arrived at Southwark Crown Court in London each morning to face the charges.

He carried symbols of his Christian faith: a Bible complete with dozens of colourful tabs and a silver cross clasped tightly in his hands during the prosecution’s opening address.

But religion played little part in the trial as allegations from his past, before his Christian conversion, were explored in detail.

Out of court, Brand and his wife Laura Gallacher continued to record their Sunday Service podcasts, detailing their thoughts on faith and the justice process.

In one, Brand suggested he was going into court with the “full armour of God”, and the couple talked at length about turning to prayer and the Bible.

In the broadcasts, posted to social media platforms YouTube and Rumble, Brand said: “Never more than in the concentrated times of these challenges and trials have I more felt the presence of God.”

He said he had felt “so close to God” while walking into the courtroom.

Days before the trial opened, Brand appeared on his podcast wearing a white robe, with a crucifix on his bare chest.

“We’re in the UK,” he said, adding: “Why is that? Fancied a trip ... The Lord has brought us here.”

Brand then prayed aloud for “all people that have suffered harms” and even those who might be watching “to find mean stuff to say”.

He said being back in the UK meant being back in “the place where Jesus found me”.

The former comedian added: “Obviously, there are great challenges knowing that however we shake this down, there are people that feel aggrieved and hurt.

“And my prayer is that this will be addressed in the coming weeks, that’s my prayer, and we’ll do our best to respect the important restrictions that exist around court cases to ensure that truth and justice can be done.”

Brand announced his conversion to Christianity in 2024, after he had first been publicly accused of sexual misconduct. He was baptised in the river Thames in Henley, with TV presenter Bear Grylls among those attending the ceremony.

In the mid-trial podcasts, Gallacher spoke about the “nerves” she felt before arriving at court.

She compared the experience to being in the “eye of the storm”.

She said: “A weird, eerie feeling that you know it’s going on, but it was silent.”

She said the calmness and silence of walking into court could feel “sort of holy”.

Gallacher said to her husband: “When you walked slowly into court that first time, you said you took it slowly and you felt God with you walking every step, didn’t you?”

In another podcast posted during the trial, Brand wore a leopard-print dressing gown with a crucifix on his bare chest.

Gallacher referenced the address of the courthouse, Battle Bridge Lane, suggesting it was apt because “you don your armour”.

She added: “I immediately start to think, ‘This is it now, get into shape, get into your strength’.”

Brand then read a passage from the Bible about putting on the “full armour of God”, so that “when the day of evil comes you may be able to stand your ground”.

He also spoke about sitting in what he called the court’s “aquarium dock”, with its glass sides surrounded by journalists behind him and the lawyers and judge in front.

He added: “In a situation like I’m in, it’s impossible not to turn to God, truth and justice.”

He started openly reciting a prayer in the dock when his wife was answering prosecution questions, and swore to tell truth on the Bible at the start of his own evidence.

Not one of the jurors picked to try his case swore their oath on the Bible. – PA