Russell Brand sentenced to 10-and-a-half years in jail for rape, sexual assault

The latest major consequence of the Me Too era, that's British comedian Russell Brand, who was sentenced to 10 and a half years in prison today for a string of sex offenses. Now, earlier this year, he was convicted for raping one woman and sexually assaulting three others. The deciding judge describing him as a predator with, I quote, staggering arrogance and contempt for his victims as well. For more on this story, then Jennifer Ben-Brahim joins me on set. She's France 24's culture editor and also the producer of our show. our show about women, the 51%. Hi, Jenny. Thanks for joining us today. So tell us more about these this case. So Russell Brand is really a comic who made a career over the years bragging about his sexual exploits on television. And he was, in fact, today sentenced having raped one woman and sexually assaulting three more. Over the course of two decades of career, according to the presiding judge and whose speech was truly moving, I recommend anyone to go and watch it. The 51-year-old Brand, he claimed, was a sexual predator who believed fame meant that he could kind of act how he liked, when he liked, unhindered by the rules that decent people live by. The court also heard some testimonies from some of Brand's victims, Such as a woman who had been anally raped in 2009 and said that the trauma was something she carried with. Now, Jenny, Russell Brand was, of course, also one of Britain's most high-profile comedians and broadcasters as well. Yes, and he actually made a big, across the pond as well, became a real Hollywood star, starring in films such as Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Get Him to the Greek, and he was also married to pop star Katy Perry. And I think we all remember the kind of back... and what happened after the divorce. He has, of course, denied all charges and denied ever having non-consensual sex and was acquitted of two other rape charges and attempted indecent assault. Russell Brand's lawyer also spoke, saying that a comedian had fundamentally changed and was a different person now and that he had found the newfound Christian faith and had recovered from drug and alcohol addiction. I want to add as well that I met police saying today but they were investigating two other alleged including one involving a 16-year-old girl. And he also said they would not be surprised if more stories came out in light of these charges. Now, the UK Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, said in the aftermath of the Brand trial that he really wanted to look at how rape cases are conducted in court in the United Kingdom to ensure that women are not left feeling that they are, in fact, the ones on trial. He also said that Brand's actions were horrifying and praised the bravery of women who came forward. Perhaps more accountability to come then for victims of sexual abuse in the UK. Jenny Ben-Brahim, thank you very much.