Bear Grylls Speaks Out After Getting Heat For Baptizing Russell Brand: “It Is Right That Justice Has Been Served”

Bear Grylls has issued a statement about Russell Brand‘s rape conviction after stoking anger in 2024 when he helped baptize the Despicable Me star shortly after he faced sexual misconduct allegations.

Grylls attended Brand’s baptism ceremony in the River Thames in spring 2024, describing the experience as a “privilege” at the time. The ceremony came months after The Times, The Sunday Times and Channel 4’s Dispatches published allegations in 2023, accusing Brand of rape, sexual assault, and emotional abuse.

Over the past four weeks, London’s Southwark Crown Court was told that the 2023 reporting was the catalyst for six women making police complaints against Brand, four of which resulted in convictions on Thursday. Brand, who strongly denied wrongdoing, will be sentenced next week.

Commenting on Brand’s conviction, Grylls told his 1.4 million X/Twitter followers: “It is right that justice has now been served. I can’t imagine how hard this time has been for the victims, the heroes of the day.”

Brand’s faith seemed genuine to me at the time when I was a guest at his private baptism.
I have attended a few now. Even visiting in prisons with people who have committed terrible crimes. It's part of our calling as men and women of faith, to love and serve anyone. It is the…

— Bear Grylls OBE (@BearGrylls) November 6, 2026

He continued: “Brand’s faith seemed genuine to me at the time when I was a guest at his private baptism. I have attended a few now. Even visiting in prisons with people who have committed terrible crimes. It’s part of our calling as men and women of faith, to love and serve anyone. It is the sick that need healing. Judgement is for the courts and God… I wouldn’t want to ever discourage someone’s coming to faith.”

Grylls, a devout Christian and star of shows including Netflix’s You vs. Wild, described Brand as a friend following the baptism. “Faith and spiritual moments in our lives are really personal, but it is a privilege to stand beside anyone when they express a humble need for forgiveness and strength from above,” he said in 2024. “Friendships when we go through tough times are worth so much.”

Grylls was criticized after the event. Marina Hyde, host of The Rest Is Entertainment podcast, wrote in The Guardian: “So Russell Brand was baptised in the Thames, and all his sins were washed away. Cheaper than a lawyer, I suppose.”

Brand appeared on Nat Geo’s Running Wild with Bear Grylls: The Challenge last year, during which they ventured across the Hebrides and discussed the comedian’s relationship with Katy Perry.