Photo is Russell Brand at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest 2025 (December 18, 2025), by Xuthoria, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Friday morning we both woke up to the news that Russell Brand had been convicted of rape and sexual assault by a London court. Brand has been of particular interest to Christians since his conversion and subsequent baptism in 2024.
As we both scrolled over breakfast, we were confronted and disturbed by the various Christian takes. Many of these takes focussed on whether or not Brand’s public conversion to Christianity was genuine.
Jeri found herself disturbed that the first impulse seemed to be to centre the perpetrator of such dehumanising and abhorrent crimes. Meanwhile, similarly, Megan was disturbed at how for some their first impulse was sympathy for Brand, rather than consideration of the victim/survivors.
The problem lies further back, in how many Christians responded to the news of Brand’s conversion and baptism. For some, this was viewed as a win for team Jesus. This response was already glossing over the known accusations against Brand. He wasn’t charged until 2025, but several accusations were aired before his baptism, in a 2023 documentary. Jeri had rejoiced at Brand’s conversion and what seemed like evidence of real change, until a friend shared with her that serious accusations had been made by multiple women spanning multiple incidents. Meanwhile, Megan knew of these accusations before hearing of Brand’s conversion, and so was already cautious about the news and looking for how he would respond to these accusations.
But whatever order you heard the different accounts of his character, both have been publicly and widely available for some time now. Christians should already have been grappling with how to respond with wisdom. This verdict hasn’t arrived out of the blue.
Some Christians have seemed reluctant to give any credence to these accusations, and it does make you wonder whether this reluctance has stemmed from not wanting to forgo the perceived win of Brand’s conversion. Such an impulse mistakes our faith identity for a team identity in which we score points against other teams. But Jesus’ victory is nothing so small. His victory is one for justice. As Matthew 12:17-21 says about Jesus, quoting Isaiah 42:
Here is my servant whom I have chosen,
the one I love, in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him,
and he will proclaim justice to the nations.
19 He will not quarrel or cry out;
no one will hear his voice in the streets.
20 A bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out,
till he has brought justice through to victory.
21 In his name the nations will put their hope. NIV
As followers of Jesus, our concern is not for our team but for justice. And we should be alert for any bruised reeds and smouldering wicks in the situation. Who are the bruised reeds and smouldering wicks in this case?
The process of law has arrived at a guilty verdict in the case. This is despite rape and sexual assault cases being notoriously difficult to “prove” in a court of law. In Australia, for instance, a 2020 report by the Australian government found that about 90% of female sexual assault victims did not report it to police, while in NSW only 5% of reported sexual assault cases result in custodial sentences. Such statistics suggest to us that when a case has proceeded to conviction, that there was compelling evidence from credible sources. In this case then, the evidence points to the reeds and wicks as being the incredibly brave women who came forward with their reports of assault. Earthly justice is rare in these cases, but we can be thankful to God that it seems to have been done here, though we still await news of his sentence.
We need to decenter Brand’s story, for he does not appear to be the victim here. We may well feel sadness over the impact of his sin upon himself. But we should be most concerned about the women who Brand violated. Brand’s narrative of what occurred is that he regrets his promiscuity, but doesn’t acknowledge it was non-consensual. Even this framing dehumanises the women, viewing them as the objects of his excessive lust rather than people he had sinned against. This framing found an easy hearing at times among Christians affected by a purity culture in which men’s lust is viewed as nigh uncontrollable and women are made responsible for it.
We should not participate in the objectification, the dehumanisation of women within our society. As we resist this culture, we need to practice a deep concern for victims as an intentional discipline.
Let us then, pray for the women first, pray that they are vindicated by a custodial sentence commensurate with the suffering Brand has caused. Let us pray for their protection and healing from trauma. In this, let us recognise the spiritual injury of watching their abuser announce his new found faith without acknowledging his crimes. They have had to watch as Christians celebrated Brand’s conversion while their now vindicated allegations were ignored or worse. This has added to the trauma they had already sustained.
Yes, we can also pray for Brand. We can pray that he finds a true depth of repentance which is expressed publicly and seeks forgiveness from both God and those he has hurt. There is a grace from God in our sin being exposed to the light, as it gives us opportunity to repent. We can pray too for his wife and children who have also been hurt through his actions.
We must also reckon with the possibility that despite what seems to be a lack of true repentance, Brand may be sincere in his declaration of faith in Christ. It is a reminder that Christians aren’t exempt from these crimes. That many who have been found guilty of such crimes have been professed Christians, even Christian leaders. For both of us, sadly, our experience in Christian contexts is that Christian men can indeed be predators and abusers. Let this be further motivation for us to confront why this is so and to remove this evil from our midst.
There is room here for both rejoicing in justice done, and weeping in compassion for all the harm that has been done. How we respond in cases like this is a witness to the world about what we value. Let it not be wins for our team. Instead, let it be evident to all that we follow the one who “will rescue them from oppression and violence, for precious is their blood in his sight” (Psalm 72:14 NIV).
Jeri Jones Sparks is Lausanne’s Co-regional Director for Oceania and Director of Good News Series. She is an evangelism consultant who is passionate about engaging Young Adults and South Asians. Jeri lives on Gadigal lands in Western Sydney with her husband Andrew and baby Julia.
Rev Dr Megan Powell du Toit is the Baptist half of the WADR Team. She is Senior Pastor of Rouse Hill Baptist Church in Sydney (on Darug lands). She cohosts the WADR podcast, With All Due Respect. She is married with grown up children.
