*Warning* Some readers may find this article distressing
Katy Perry was married to Russell Brand for just 14 months.
Katy Perry’s marriage to Russell Brand has come under scrutiny after the comedian was accused of numerous sexual offences over the weekend with some of the alleged offences occurring during the period he was with her.
Four women have accused Brand of sexual assaults between 2006 and 2013, one of whom was 16 at the time, and the Met Police has urged any alleged victims to contact them.
Brand denies all of the allegations which were revealed in a joint
The Sunday Times and Channel 4 Dispatches report and have led to
further alleged victims coming forward.
Katy Perry began dating Brand in 2009, before they married in a lavish ceremony at a tiger sanctuary in India in October 2010.
Just 14 months later, Brand reportedly told the singer he wanted a divorce via text message before she was due to perform. In divorce papers filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, Brand cited "irreconcilable differences."
In light of the allegations against Brand, the
Firework singer’s interview with
Vogue in 2013 has been revisited. In it, she makes several veiled remarks about her ex that some suggest might be linked to his alleged transgressions.
Reflecting on their time together, Katy Perry revealed the complexities of their relationship, telling
Vogue: "At first when I met him, he wanted an equal, and I think a lot of times strong men do want an equal, but then they get that equal and they’re like, ‘I can’t handle the equalness.’"
She described his attitude towards her professional stature as "very controlling", especially during her tours, which caused a significant strain on their partnership.
Perry initially shouldered the blame for their breakup, her tone in the interview hinted at deeper issues with Brand.
"I felt a lot of responsibility for it ending, but then I found out the real truth," she said, without delving into specifics.
That, she said: "I keep it locked in my safe for a rainy day."
The reference has triggered a wave of speculation with fans now wondering what Perry may have known.
In the documentary, one of Brand’s accusers alleged he raped her against a wall in his LA home and that she sought treatment at a rape crisis centre the same day. Another alleged he assaulted her when she was aged 16 during an emotionally abusive and controlling relationship.
A third claims Brand sexually assaulted her in Los Angeles and later threatened to take legal action if she spoke about the allegation to anyone else. A fourth described being sexually assaulted by Brand and also claimed he was both physically and emotionally abusive towards her.
In his statement on Friday, Brand said the allegations against him "pertain to the time when I was working in the mainstream when I was in the newspapers all the time when I was in the movies, and as I have written about extensively in my books, I was very, very promiscuous."
He continued: "Now during that time of promiscuity the relationships I had were absolutely, always consensual. I was always transparent about that then, almost too transparent, and I am being transparent about it now as well.
"To see that transparency metastasised into something criminal, that I absolutely deny, makes me question – is there another agenda at play?"
Brand has claimed that there are witnesses whose evidence "directly contradicts the narrative that these two mainstream media outlets are trying to construct."
If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can access help and resources via www.rapecrisishelp.ie or by calling a 24hr helpline run by the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre on 1800 77 8888.
(This article was originally published on JOE.co.uk).
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