Russell Brand has claimed it was the love of Jesus Christ that rescued him from the “empty pleasure” of porn, in an impassioned new video shared on X. The embattled comedian, 48, who is facing multiple charges of rape and sexual assault, turned to religion in a fiery monologue on his Rumble podcast, where he spoke candidly about his porn addiction and the spiritual shift that followed his personal breakdown.
“The reason I keep bringing up pornography is because it’s not just about desire – it’s about how we quietly give ourselves over to empty pleasure,” Brand said. “I didn’t find Jesus in comfort. I found Him in the middle of breakdown, confusion, and pain. That’s where His love met me." His video continued, revealing he used to “worship pleasure” and that God had “absolved him of his brokenness: “One of the reasons I keep banging on about pornography – and I see you in the chat telling me to shut up about it – is because pornography, I believe, is the soft end of keeping us all attached to pagan and hollow ideas.
“By Pagan, in this instance, I mean the worship of pleasure, the worship of God that makes you deteriorate rather than a God that elevates you, that heals you, that absolves you in your brokenness.”
Brand, who was once married to pop star Katy Perry, also addressed scepticism around his recent religious devotion, saying: “Some people think oh Russell Brand he became Christian because of these allegations and accusations – well perhaps there’s some truth collapsing those ideas together, but there was so much happening in my life at that point.
“So much chaos, so much disaster, so much pain. God is real, Jesus Christ is real, God came to earth in order to absolve us of our sins and rose again so that we may know eternal life.”
Speaking to US Weekly back in 2017 about his long-standing struggle with sex addiction, Brand revealed he became obsessive about sex, women and pornography as a teenager.
He said the addiction was worse when he quit taking drugs, because being famous made it so easy to find women: “The sexual addiction, for me, was worse when I was clean. I think for about five, 10 years it was really bad.
“Listen, I’m lucky. I was famous. I’m heterosexual. I’m attracted to adult, human females. It’s not complicated. I don’t have any weird tastes. It was a good position to be in if you have that particular problem.”
The video comes just weeks after the Metropolitan Police confirmed Brand has been charged with the rape of a woman in 1999 in the Bournemouth area and the oral rape and sexual assault of a woman in 2024 in the Westminster area of London.
He has also been charged with indecently assaulting a woman in 2001 and sexually assaulting another woman between 2004 and 2005 – both alleged to have taken place in Westminster, London.
He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on May 2.
Brand has denied the allegations. In a video, he said: "I’ve always told you guys that when I was young, and single, before I had my wife and family ... I was a fool, man.
"I was a fool before I lived in the light of the Lord. I was a drug addict, a sex addict and an imbecile. But what I never was was a rapist. I’ve never engaged in nonconsensual activities. I pray you can tell that by looking in my eyes.”
