Russell Brand has sent a defiant message from prison to supporters, insisting: “As you know, I am not guilty.”
The disgraced comedian continues to deny the charges despite being convicted by a jury of rape and three sexual assaults.
His wife, Laura Gallacher, hosted the couple’s Sunday Service YouTube broadcast, reading from the Bible before playing footage recorded during Brand’s three-week trial.
Gallacher, 39, the daughter of Ryder Cup-winning golfer Bernard Gallacher, told viewers: “Russell has asked me to read something to you.”
The broadcast came as Brand completed the first week of his 10-and-a-half-year prison sentence.
Reading his message from the conservatory of their home in Henley-on-Thames, she said: “Beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, God bless you for your support.
“As you know, I am not guilty of the offences for which I have been jailed, so something strange is happening.”
Brand was transferred to Category C HMP Littlehey in Cambridgeshire after initially being held at HMP Wandsworth, it emerged this week.
Laura Gallacher hosted the couple’s Sunday Service broadcast and read a message from her husband
The programme also featured pre-recorded footage of Russell Brand
Gallacher continued: “The good news is that Christ is with us when we choose him, and I do.
“I am incarcerated in HMP Littlehey—little as in small, and hey as in ‘hey, I’m in the biggest sex offenders’ prison in Europe.’
“The good news is that I have already seen the staff here are strong, kind and dedicated.
“As for my fellow prisoners, I now understand that I am in no position to judge anyone.
“I do not know which other men here are not guilty. And those who are guilty are people Christ died to save, just like you and me. Let us love, pray for and forgive one another as God forgave us.”
Gallacher became emotional as she read the closing words: “Please support my treasured wife and family. I feel your prayers. Your brother in Christ, Russell.”
She opened the programme by saying she wanted to “continue the good work that was being established here in this Sunday Service community, something very, very close to mine and Russell’s heart”.
“It may look different, but the ambitions are very much the same. We trust God, his plan and everything he is doing right now,” she added.
“Even though it is painful, and it will obviously take some getting used to for me to sit here without my companion and my person beside me, I want to continue, and I am grateful for the support.”
Gallacher said she remains in contact with her husband, adding: “He’s okay, and he’s praying.”
The British comedian, actor, podcaster and media personality has completed the first week of his 10-and-a-half-year sentence
The episode also included a pre-recorded segment featuring Brand and his wife.
In the footage, recorded while his trial was still under way, the comedian briefly addressed the proceedings.
He said: “Obviously, we’re in the middle of a trial.
“We do not really follow the coverage, but someone showed me some of it the other day from people who were broadly supportive. I know that is not generally how it has been covered in the mainstream media, and you can draw your own conclusions from that.
“What I will say is that it is amazing to watch other people’s coverage because they talk about it as though it were a football match.”
Brand later appeared to joke about the trial and the strain it had placed on the couple’s marriage.
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After Gallacher said she had never removed the screen lock from her phone, Brand replied: “It is a miracle I am able to put up with you, because you put a screen lock on your phone that means we cannot rotate it into landscape.
“Whereas I have never done anything that has put any pressure on our marriage.”
“I’m a nice guy,” he declared, prompting his wife to quickly change the subject.
Brand was moved to Category C HMP Littlehey on Friday.
The prison houses male sex offenders and offers activities including yoga, choir and origami classes.
The 51-year-old had initially been taken to Category B HMP Wandsworth in south-west London, where he was held in solitary confinement.
The comedian was reportedly transferred in a secret operation to Category C HMP Littlehey near Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire
Authorities are understood to have considered sending Brand to HMP Wakefield, nicknamed “Monster Mansion”, where Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins and child killer Kyle Bevan were murdered by fellow inmates last year.
However, the West Yorkshire prison was reportedly deemed too dangerous for Brand, who is also facing fresh allegations of sexual offences.
The transfer followed a report in The Mail on Sunday that Brand had been branded “a fake and a fraud” by a fellow Christian prisoner assigned to help him adjust to prison life.
The Christian “listener”, who held prayer sessions with Brand before and after his sentencing, reportedly questioned the sincerity of the comedian’s religious beliefs and said he did not genuinely believe Brand had found God.
Instead, he is said to believe that the former atheist and one-time Buddhist is using Christianity to disguise his alleged sex crimes and build support for an appeal.
The prisoner was also reportedly angered by Brand’s refusal to show remorse and his attempts to preach to other inmates, despite often being seen holding a Bible during his trial.
The listener, who regularly helps new inmates settle in on Wandsworth’s induction wing, initially prayed with Brand, who was said to have quickly formed a close association with him.
But the experienced prisoner, described as “nobody’s fool”, soon began questioning whether Brand’s faith was genuine.
He reportedly told friends he challenged the comedian, saying: “It’s an insult to our religion, and it’s terrible that he has used Christ as a cover-up for his sins.”
He also claimed Brand had been telling inmates he was “royally stitched up by the Establishment and the truth will prevail”, while insisting he would appeal his rape and sexual assault convictions.
“Brand is full of s***,” he reportedly said. “He deserves no sympathy.”
Meanwhile, Brand—who is facing a series of new allegations—is said to have devised a “secret” plan to communicate with the outside world through his X account.
According to reports, he intends to use an official communications service designed to help prisoners maintain contact with family and friends, allegedly sending messages through other inmates.
A source told The Mail on Sunday that Brand plans to use the “eMates Email a Prisoner” service to send messages to his team, who would then publish them on his behalf to his 10.1 million X followers.
Prisoners are prohibited from accessing social media accounts such as X themselves.
Brand was sentenced to 10 and a half years in prison on Monday afternoon.
He is expected to serve two-thirds of the sentence before being released on licence.
He will remain on the sex offenders’ register for life.
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