Russell Brand admitted during a recent appearance on “The Megyn Kelly Show” that he was physically involved with a 16-year-old when he was 30. The comedian and actor was careful to note that the age of consent in the United Kingdom is 16, according to Variety. But he also acknowledged that he considers the relationship to have been “exploitative.”
The admission comes as Brand faces a series of serious criminal charges. In April 2025, he was charged with assault relating to four separate women in alleged incidents that took place between 1999 and 2005. In December 2025, two such additional charges were brought against him relating to two further women in incidents that allegedly took place in 2009.
Brand has pleaded not guilty to all charges and denies any wrongdoing.
Brand’s trial was originally scheduled to begin on June 16 at Southwark Crown Court in London. During a hearing, Justice Joel Bennathan announced a delay, with the trial now set to begin Oct. 12.
During the interview, Kelly told Brand she had initially been angry with him but that her thinking had evolved after considering how the government treats public figures it views as threats. “I felt that anger for a couple of years around you because I just thought it was so reckless and it was so wrong,” she said. “And I knew that it might be false, but it seemed overwhelming the way that they presented the evidence. And then the more I looked at it, the more I started to recognize I might not know the full story.”
Kelly added, “Your growing prominence as a figure in a bunch of discussions that they find very threatening — and honestly, I just reevaluated the whole thing and thought I need to be open-minded to having been wrong.”
She said, “I’m interested in a conversation about it all.”
In response, Brand thanked Kelly for the opportunity to address her concerns and acknowledged that his conduct as a younger man reflected a lack of maturity. “Thank you, Megyn Kelly, for giving me the grace to address, in particular, your anger, which is entirely legitimate and recognizable,” he said.
Brand elaborated on the relationship with the 16-year-old, saying: “The plain fact of it is that in Europe and in the United Kingdom, where I’m from, the age of consent is 16, and I did sleep with a 16-year-old when I was 30. But when I was 30, I was a very different person. I was a lot younger, and I was an immature 30-year-old.”
“When you’re a famous man [who] has the ability to attract women that I had at that time, I think (…) it is exploitative,” he said. “I recognize (…) I did not apply enough consideration, barely any.”