Alleged Rapist Russell Brand Says Baptism ‘Changed’ Him

Russell Brand has taken a new step to express his devotion to Christianity. In an Instagram post on Monday, the embattled actor-comedian turned commentator shared his baptism experience, months after being accused of rape and sexual assault by several women in a joint investigation by The Sunday Times, The Times, and Channel 4 docuseries Dispatches.

“I got baptized and it was an incredible, profound experience,” he said in the video. “Many aspects of it were very intimate and personal,” he continued, “As a person who has in the past taken many substances and always been disappointed with their inability to deliver the kind of tranquility and peace and even transcendence that I always felt I’ve been looking for, something occurred in the process of baptism that was incredible, overwhelming, literally overwhelming because I was obviously under water and it was the River Thames.”

Prior to converting to Christianity, Brand had been “into Hinduism,” according to ex-wife Katy Perry. He’s been public about his Christian faith for years, but started posting his thoughts on Christianity to social media in 2023—the same year he was accused of rape and physical and emotional abuse between 2006 and 2013 by four women in a scathing TV documentary. Since then, more women have come forward to either accuse Brand of other instances of assault or share that they believed the accusers.

Read more at The Daily Beast.