Russell Brand's Ex Katy Perry Made Chilling Comments In 2013 — Now They Read Like A Warning
In 2013, Katy Perry told Vogue she'd learned "the real truth" behind her divorce from Russell Brand — something she said she kept "locked in my safe for a rainy day." Thirteen years later, after Brand's rape conviction, that old quote is being read very differently.
Case at a glance
- Russell Brand — Comedian/actor, convicted
- Katy Perry — Singer, Brand's ex-wife
Next: Police have told the Los Angeles Times they are reviewing new allegations that surfaced during and after the trial, including two additional rape referrals passed to prosecutors; no charging decision has been announced. Brand must serve two-thirds of his 10-year, six-month sentence — just over seven years — before he's eligible for parole. Nothing in the coverage reviewed indicates an appeal has been filed.
What Katy Perry actually said in 2013
In a 2013 interview with Vogue, Katy Perry talked about her short marriage to Russell Brand in language that sounded, at the time, like ordinary breakup talk. "He didn't like the atmosphere of me being the boss on tour. So that was really hurtful, and it was very controlling, which was upsetting," she said, according to People.com's account of the interview.
Perry went further, describing a shift in how she came to understand the end of her marriage. "I felt a lot of responsibility for it ending, but then I found out the real truth, which I can't necessarily disclose because I keep it locked in my safe for a rainy day. I let go and I was like: This isn't because of me, this is beyond me. So I have moved on from that," she said, per People.com.
She never explained what that 'real truth' was, and she rarely spoke about Brand publicly again. Thirteen years later, with Brand convicted of rape and sexual assault, those two quotes are circulating as something more than a celebrity shrugging off a breakup.
The marriage, the breakup, and a text before a concert
Perry and Brand met on the set of the film Get Him to the Greek in 2009 and married in 2010, according to People.com; The News International reports they wed in India that year.
The marriage lasted roughly 14 months. In late 2011, Brand texted Perry that he was filing for divorce just minutes before she was due to perform in concert — a moment captured on video and later aired in Perry's 2012 documentary Katy Perry: Part of Me, which shows her sobbing backstage before going onstage.
Perry told Vogue in 2013 that she had not spoken to Brand since receiving that text. The divorce was finalized in 2012.
In July 2026, at a concert at Blenheim Palace in England, a fan asked Perry to act out her reaction to seeing her ex. "I hope my ex isn't here. He should be in jail!" she said, according to People.com — a joke that reads very differently now.
"I felt a lot of responsibility for it ending, but then I found out the real truth, which I can't necessarily disclose because I keep it locked in my safe for a rainy day." — Katy Perry, to Vogue in 2013, as reported by People.com
Who's involved
Russell Brand, 51, is a British comedian and actor known for stand-up comedy, MTV hosting work, and films including Get Him to the Greek and Arthur. He was convicted on Nov. 5 of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault and sentenced on Nov. 9 to 10 years and six months in prison.
Katy Perry, 42, is the pop star behind hits like "Teenage Dream" and "Firework." She was married to Brand from 2010 to 2012 and was not a witness or party in the criminal case against him. She is now dating former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, a relationship a source told People.com is "very serious."
Jemima Goldsmith, 52, is a British screenwriter and producer whose credits include American Crime Story and The Voice of Hind Rajab. She dated Brand years after his marriage to Perry ended and has publicly accused him of abuse during their relationship, though she did not press charges.
Riel Karmy-Jones KC led the prosecution against Brand; Ian Winter represented his defense. Judge Justice Bennathan presided over the trial and handed down the sentence at Southwark Crown Court in London. Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy led the police investigation that brought the charges.
What the record says: charges, verdict, sentence
Brand stood trial for three weeks in October at Southwark Crown Court, facing seven counts tied to allegations from six women spanning 1999 to 2009, according to NPR and the Los Angeles Times. He pleaded not guilty to all of them and said he never had non-consensual sex with anyone.
On Nov. 5, a jury convicted him on four of the seven counts — one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault, involving four women, per the Los Angeles Times. He was acquitted on two counts of rape and one count of attempted indecent assault.
The rape conviction involved a woman Brand met at one of his shows in 2009, whom he anally raped at his home, NPR reports. The sexual assault convictions involved separate incidents at a bar, a radio station and a TV studio between 2004 and 2009.
On Nov. 9, Judge Justice Bennathan sentenced Brand to 10 years and six months in prison. "The total sentence is one of ten years, six months," the judge said, according to NPR. Brand must serve two-thirds of that sentence before he becomes eligible for parole.
One outlet, The News International, reported ahead of the ruling that Brand's sentencing hearing was set for Monday, Nov. 11 — a date that doesn't match the Nov. 9 sentencing reported by People.com, NPR and the Los Angeles Times.
What each side has said since the verdict
Prosecutors argued for a long sentence, citing aggravating factors in the rape case, including that Brand removed a condom, NPR reports.
At sentencing, the judge said Brand had become "a sexual predator" and paused "to pay tribute to the determination and bravery" of the women who testified, per NPR.
Brand's defense argued he had changed. His attorneys said he was "a fundamentally different person" from who he was at the time of the crimes, according to NPR. Separately, during trial, defense attorney Ian Winter argued the "well of justice had been corrupted and contaminated" by a 2023 joint investigation by the Times of London and Channel 4 that first made allegations against Brand public, the Los Angeles Times reports.
After sentencing, Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy said: "Brand used his influence, status and fame to exploit and sexually offend against women. As his profile grew, so too did his sense of entitlement. I hope this conviction sends a clear message that no one is above the law, no matter how famous or powerful they may be."
Four women gave victim impact statements before sentencing. One, whom Brand was convicted of raping, said in a statement read by prosecutors: "It's something I carry with me every day and it often feels never-ending... I doubt my ability to make good decisions and no longer trust my instinct in the way I did," per NPR.
New allegations surface after the verdict
Perry's name was deliberately kept out of the trial. Prosecutors had planned to raise Brand's marriage to Perry in their opening statement, but his defense objected that it wasn't relevant, and lead prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones KC agreed to drop it along with references to Brand's religious beliefs, calling the Perry relationship "sensitive," The News International reports, citing the Telegraph. Perry was not asked to give a witness statement during the police investigation, according to the Independent.
Days after sentencing, Jemima Goldsmith posted publicly that she had Brand "removed from my house in 2014 during a violent incident" and accused him of "violence, coercive control and abuse" during their relationship, the Los Angeles Times reports. She did not press charges at the time; police confirmed officers responded but made no arrests.
"I am glad and relieved that Russell Brand has finally faced justice," Goldsmith wrote, according to the Los Angeles Times. She said she stayed quiet for years out of concern for "the impact of the press attention on my then teenage children."
Police separately confirmed they are reviewing additional allegations. "Several people have contacted the investigation team during and since the trial to provide information or report a potential criminal allegation," the Metropolitan Police Service said in a statement to the Los Angeles Times. "Detectives are assessing this information as part of their ongoing enquiries."
What happens next
Police have told the Los Angeles Times they are reviewing new allegations that surfaced during and after the trial, including two additional rape referrals passed to prosecutors; no charging decision has been announced. Brand must serve two-thirds of his 10-year, six-month sentence — just over seven years — before he's eligible for parole. Nothing in the coverage reviewed indicates an appeal has been filed.
How this plays in court
Prosecutors built the original case on six complainants spanning a decade, and the jury convicted on four of seven counts — a split verdict showing the panel weighed each allegation on its own evidence rather than accepting the pattern as a package. Mixed verdicts like this are common in multi-complainant sexual assault trials, where the strength of proof varies case to case.
The defense's successful fight to keep Katy Perry out of the trial — arguing a failed marriage from 2009-2011 wasn't relevant to specific assault counts tied to other women — is the kind of relevance argument prosecutors lose often. It means Perry's 2013 Vogue comments were never evidence a jury considered; they're context the public is now reading backward.
The new claims from Jemima Goldsmith and the additional rape allegations police mentioned to the Los Angeles Times sit in a different category. No charges have been filed on either, and any prosecutor evaluating them would need independent corroboration — records, witnesses, forensic material — not just a public statement, however credible it reads.
A defense attorney will likely argue that allegations surfacing after a high-profile conviction carry a timing problem: publicity can prompt genuine disclosures, but it can also draw claims that haven't been tested the way the Nov. 5 verdict was. Any future charges would have to clear that evidentiary bar on their own.
- People.com: Katy Perry Hasn’t Followed Russell Brand’s Life Since 2011 Split: ‘Ultimately for the Best’ (Exclusive Source)
- The News International: Russell Brand's trial took unexpected turn over ex wife Katy Perry
- People.com: Russell Brand’s ‘Controlling’ Behavior with Ex Katy Perry Resurfaces as He’s Found Guilty of Rape and Sexual Assault
- NPR: British comedian Russell Brand sentenced to over 10 years for rape and sexual assault
- Los Angeles Times: Russell Brand faces fresh allegations, police investigation in wake of rape conviction