Trigger Warning: This article includes discussion of alleged sexual assault, with details.
A new Netflix documentary about Russell Brand is set to premiere on November 13. Titled Russell Brand: Open Secret, the film follows his rise to fame and the allegations against him. The release comes days after Brand received a 10-year-and-six-month prison sentence. He was convicted of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault.
Netflix to reportedly release documentary titled ‘Russell Brand: Open Secret’ following his rape conviction
Directed by Olivia Isaacs and produced by 72 Films, the documentary will explore Brand’s early life. It will also examine his rise to fame and the allegations against him. It will also examine the media scrutiny surrounding him over the past three years.
According to The Sun, Netflix spent three years developing the feature-length documentary. The publication reported that the streaming service waited for the trial’s outcome before announcing a release date. A TV insider said, “This is very much billed by the creators as the comprehensive story of Brand, with various figures from within his orbit talking about the man they knew.”
“They include those who spent time with him on an intimate level, including his former flatmate Mark Pinheiro, who was one of the witnesses in the recent trial. Also Georgina Baillie, Andrew Sachs’ granddaughter who was the woman at the centre of the infamous 2008 Sachsgate scandal involving Russell,” the insider added.
The insider also revealed that the documentary will feature two journalists. They are Ros Urwin of The Sunday Times and Charlotte Wace of The Times. Their 2023 investigation, conducted alongside Channel 4’s Dispatches, brought allegations against Brand into the public spotlight. It also preceded the criminal investigation.
Brand was convicted following a four-week trial at Southwark Crown Court. As previously reported, the allegations concerned incidents spanning 2004 to 2009. The charges included grabbing a woman’s breasts at a Soho party in 2004 and sexually assaulting another woman at Choice FM in 2004 or 2005. He was also convicted of raping a woman at his Hampstead home in 2009 and sexually assaulting another woman during a Channel 4 production that year.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
