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An Australian woman has revealed that she was sexually harassed by Russell Brand in an office bathroom in LA in 2008.
The woman, who spoke anonymously to 60 Minutes, recounted the moment Brand had followed her into a bathroom and exposed his penis to her. Brand was on site to record a radio show for the BBC when the victim was introduced to him.
“I didn’t actually know who he was,” the woman told 60 Minutes journalist Alison Piotrowski. “I didn’t know anything about him.”
The woman went into a private bathroom to retrieve some medication for herself when Brand followed her inside.
“I squatted down to open up a cupboard where the first aid kit is kept, and when I turned around, there was a groin in front of me,” she said.
Brand apparently said “Ooh, you’re a bit of all right aren’t you? I’m going to f**k you,” before she responded, “No, you’re not.”
“He just kept saying, I’m going to f**k you, I’m going to f**k you, and I thought, what is this man doing? And why would he be doing this to me?”
The woman said that Brand proceeded to undo his trousers, pulled out his penis and directed it towards her.
“And then, before you know it, there was a loud banging on the door,” she recounted. “They were calling for him to come into the studio. And I thought, ‘Oh, my god. Thank god, I’ve been spared this creep.’ ”
Brand was called back into the studio, where he was recording an episode of The Russell Brand Show with British comedian Matt Morgan.
The woman texted a BBC staff member about the incident, to which she received the following reply: “Yes, I know. He’s talking about it on air.”
The episode of the show was aired on June 21, 2008, and Morgan was recorded as saying, it has been “25 minutes since [Brand] showed his willy to a lady … to a receptionist” — however, according to the female victim, that part was cut from the show, and only recently surfaced after allegations of Brand’s sexual crimes were made public.
“You don’t want to be that one that brings this to light,” she told 60 Minutes. “… In hindsight, I wish I had. But I actually thought nobody would’ve believed what I had to say and I couldn’t be that person to do it.”
Morgan released a statement to the BBC, claiming he was “not aware until now” of the incident between Brand and the Australian woman.
“I have expressed my regret now looking back at the impact of the show, and this is a further example,” he said.
The Australian woman’s claim is the latest in a wave of sexual assault allegations against the English celebrity which came to light last week — after four women accused Brand of rape, sexual assault and emotional abuse between 2006 and 2013.