A former personal assistant to Russell Brand has told a court she left her job after nine months because she was “sick of him”, describing what she said was a workplace atmosphere in which the comedian’s treatment of women was excused and “normalised”.
Helen Berger worked closely with Mr Brand from June 2006 to February 2007, a period when he was appearing on MTV, Channel 4 and the BBC, writing a book and performing stand-up to sell-out crowds.
In a statement to his rape and sexual assault trial at Southwark Crown Court, Ms Berger said she witnessed Mr Brand “treat women poorly” and alleged that people around him helped “normalise bad behaviour”.
She told the court that Mr Brand found women online to satisfy what she described as his “insane sexual appetite”, but said his mood after sex often appeared low.
Her statement, read to jurors, said: “Though I’ve worked with a lot of celebrities before and seen a lot of people normalising bad behaviour, this was on another level.”
She added: “Normalising and dismissing Russell’s behaviour made me think, ‘this is just the way it is here’”.
Ms Berger said Mr Brand had “an insane sexual appetite and was sleeping with people day and night”.
She recalled him “getting antsy” during deadline pressure and, she said, joking: “May I go and have sex now?”
Ms Berger also described one occasion when, she said, Mr Brand interviewed actress Sadie Frost while dressed only in his pants and an open robe.
“When I went to Russell’s flat, he was always in his underwear, he loved walking around in his underwear with no shirt on,” she said.
Referring to the interview with Ms Frost, she told the court: “He did the whole interview in his underwear, no shirt and an open robe.”
‘He was like a peacock’
Ms Berger said she was employed via Mr Brand’s agent, John Noel, and was frequently asked to attend the comedian’s flat in Camden, north London.
She told jurors: “I worked a lot and was exhausted, emotional and it was a lot to deal with.
“I always had to manage my emotions around him.
“He had an insane sexual appetite and was sleeping with people day and night.
“He was very open about what his needs were, we didn’t have a specific conversation about it.”
Part of her role, she said, involved monitoring Mr Brand’s media coverage, including interviews in which he spoke candidly about sex and his desires.
“He never seemed happy after sex, more so depressed,” she said.
Ms Berger told the court Mr Brand used MySpace to find women for sex. “At his house, women often came over and it was clear they were there for sex,” she said.
She also said she once found a female celebrity asleep in Mr Brand’s bed while he was “wandering around the house half-dressed”, adding: “He was like a peacock, women would always approach him.”
Ms Berger told jurors that when she first began working for Mr Brand she was instructed to obtain phone numbers for him from female fans.
She said the task made her “feel uncomfortable” and, after seeking advice, she told Mr Brand she would no longer do it.
In another account, Ms Berger said she saw Mr Brand abruptly dismiss a woman he had been speaking to at a party once he realised she was in a relationship.
She said: “He turned in a way that really startled me.
“He literally switched off his charm and moved on to the next woman.”
Concluding her statement, Ms Berger said she resigned after nine months because she was “sick of him and feeling burned out”.
Mr Brand is accused of three counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault and one charge of indecent assault.
He denies all the charges.
Mr Justice Bennathan told the jury the prosecution case is nearly complete, and that jurors will begin hearing the defence case tomorrow at lunchtime.
