Their abrupt separation sent shockwaves through the entertainment world.
In the 15 years since divorcing Russell Brand, Katy Perry has largely kept what fans have described as a “dignified silence”.
Although she has not publicly addressed his conviction for rape and sexual assault, the Mail on Sunday understands that the pop star is considering sharing her account of their “dark marriage” in a book and docuseries.
People close to Perry say she wanted to wait until Brand’s trial had concluded before finalising any agreement. She has reportedly held “active discussions” about telling her side of the 14-month marriage, which ended in 2011.
A well-placed Hollywood source said: “Katy has received several offers over the years to tell her story, but she would not consider anything until after the trial. She has a lot to say.”
“She is currently considering a Netflix-style series as well as an autobiography. She and her team have been in active discussions.
“There is a great deal about that marriage that people do not know. It was an extremely dark period in her life.”
The source said Perry’s representatives had been in contact with major streaming platforms, including Netflix and Hulu.
Pop star Katy Perry pictured with her then-husband Russell Brand at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles
Perry was reportedly furious after her husband shared this photograph of her waking up in bed without make-up. The image was soon deleted
Perry, 42, was not called to give evidence at the trial. However, it has since emerged that she may have been in the room during one of the sexual assaults allegedly committed by Brand in 2009.
Brand, 51, was convicted of sexually assaulting a female Channel 4 employee after asking her for a massage and then “thrusting and pressing his head into her lap around her groin area”, leaving her feeling “repulsed”.
In legal submissions made before Brand’s rape trial and released after his conviction, his barrister Ian Winter KC said of the 2009 incident: “The victim says that other people were in the room and witnessed it, possibly including the defendant’s future wife, Ms Katy Perry.”
Brand’s lawyers successfully argued that his marriage to the singer was unrelated to the allegations, and prosecutors agreed that Perry should not be mentioned during the proceedings.
The Crown Prosecution Service confirmed that Perry, who is dating former Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau, was never contacted or asked to provide a witness statement to police.
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Perry and Brand met while he was filming Get Him To The Greek in 2009. They married the following year in a Hindu ceremony in India.
By the end of 2011, however, the marriage had ended, with Brand informing Perry by text moments before she was due to perform on stage.
The singer behind I Kissed A Girl and Firework has suggested that she knew more about Brand’s darker side, telling fans this summer that he should be “in jail”. She has not commented publicly on his conviction.
Perry performing at the Blenheim Palace Festival in July this year. People close to the singer say she has been in “active discussions” about telling her side of her 14-month marriage to Brand
Brand removed his wedding ring and joked about bedding college students weeks before filing for divorce from Perry in November 2011
In a 2013 interview with Vogue, Perry said: “When I first met him, he wanted an equal. I think a lot of times strong men do want an equal, but then they get that equal and think, I can’t handle the equality.
“He did not like the atmosphere of me being the boss on tour. That was really hurtful, and it was very controlling, which was upsetting.”
“I felt a great deal of responsibility for the relationship ending. But then I discovered the real truth, which I cannot necessarily disclose because I keep it locked in my safe for a rainy day.”
Brand reportedly humiliated Perry just weeks before their December 2011 split by removing his wedding ring and making jokes about “bedding” college students while touring universities in America.
In a video posted on the Nudevista website, he said he was preparing for what he called “a week of revolution”.
Brand told viewers he was looking forward to experiencing the antics of female students first-hand. He then pointedly removed his wedding ring and joked that he would hide it “somewhere very, very safe” while travelling.
He added: “I don’t know what a sorority is, except from what I have seen online: that they are sort of sex clubs for women.”
There had already been indications that the marriage was under strain.
Perry was reportedly furious after Brand posted a photograph on social media showing her waking up in bed without make-up. The image was quickly removed.
She later began a decade-long relationship with actor Orlando Bloom, with whom she has a daughter. Representatives for Perry were approached for comment.
