Questions Surround Katy Perry’s Silence on Russell Brand Case

Brand, 51, was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on November 9 to 10 years and six months in prison after being convicted of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault involving four women. The offenses took place between 2004 and 2009. He denied the charges and pleaded not guilty during a four-week trial. He was acquitted of two other rape charges and one count of attempted indecent assault.

At sentencing, Judge Joel Bennathan called Brand a sexual predator and criticized his “staggering arrogance,” according to CBS News. The judge said Brand’s fame and influence did not give him permission to disregard consent. The Crown Prosecution Service said the women had carried the impact of the offenses for almost two decades before the case reached court.

Perry has previously spoken about the relationship. In a 2013 Vogue interview, more than a year after their separation, she said she had been in love with Brand when they married. She also said he told her by text on December 31, 2011, that he wanted a divorce. Perry said she initially blamed herself for the marriage’s breakdown, then learned what she called the “real truth”; she did not disclose what that was, saying she kept it “locked in my safe for a rainy day.”

She also described Brand as controlling and said he disliked her taking charge during tours. Their relationship’s strain appeared in the 2012 concert film Katy Perry: Part of Me, which showed difficulties linked to separate careers and disagreements over having children. Perry was not ready to become a mother at the time, while Brand reportedly wanted to start a family.