Russell Brand accused of rape and sexual assault

Russell Brand, the British actor and comedian, has been accused of raping and sexually abusing four women during the peak of his popularity between 2006 and 2013.

The Times of London and Channel 4 Dispatches revealed the shocking allegations in a joint investigation published on Saturday.

One of the alleged victims, Nadia, said that Brand raped her "against a wall" in his home in Los Angeles in July 2012. This was only five months after he divorced Katy Perry, the pop icon, whom he had married in October 2010 in a lavish ceremony at a tiger sanctuary in India.

Nadia went to a rape crisis center on the same day of the alleged assault, and her medical records were cited by the newspaper and network.

Another woman claimed that Brand groomed her and sexually abused her when she was 16 years old. She said that he was 31 at the time and called her "the child". She also said that he assaulted her during their "emotionally abusive and controlling" relationship that lasted for three months.

Brand and Perry split up after 14 months of marriage in December 2011, when Brand sent Perry a text message saying he was divorcing her. Perry was about to perform on stage when she received the message.

Perry told Vogue in 2013 that she had not heard from Brand since then. She also said that he did not like her being the "boss" and that he was "really hurtful, and… very controlling."

The 'Dark Horse' singer, who is now a judge on 'American Idol', met Brand in 2009 when she was filming a cameo for his movie 'Get Him to the Greek.' They started dating after meeting again at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards.

Brand cited "irreconcilable differences" with Perry in his divorce papers filed in Los Angeles Superior Court. He then dated Jemima Khan, a British socialite and filmmaker.

The 'Arthur' actor denied the allegations in an online video released on Saturday before the report came out.

"Amidst this litany of astonishing, rather baroque attacks, are some very serious allegations that I absolutely refute," he said. He added that the claims were from a period when he was "very, very promiscuous", which he said he wrote "about extensively in my books."

He also said that "the relationships I had were absolutely, always consensual."