On Friday, Netflix surprise-released a new Russell Brand documentary, Russell Brand: Open Secret, less than one week after the British actor and comedian was convicted of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault, and sentenced to more than 10 years in prison.
asserted
actor → release → prison
The documentary, directed by Olivia Isaacs, follows an investigation from The Times and The Sunday Times into sexual assault allegations against Brand, led by reporters Rosamund Urwin and Charlotte Wace.
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documentary → direct → Urwin
(Their full report for The Times was published yesterday.)
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report → publish → Times
The investigation, and the documentary, include three sexual assault allegations against Brand that were not included in the recent trial.
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that → include → trial
One of those allegations comes from a woman named Jordan Martin, who is interviewed in the documentary.
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who → come → documentary
In her interview, Martin said she was in a romantic relationship with Brand when she was 26, and joined him on the set of the 2008 comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall, which Brand’s first big role in a Hollywood film.
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she → say → film
The movie was filming in Hawai’i, and Brand invited Martin to tag along.
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Brand → film → Martin
“He did say that he took me along because he wanted someone there to stop him from trying it on with people on set.
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someone → say → set
But that’s kind of not how it played out,” Martin said in the film.
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Martin → play → film
Instead, Martin claimed Brand displayed controlling, possessive behavior—forbidding her from sunbathing outside in one moment, and cheating on her in the next.
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Brand → claim → next
“He didn’t feel comfortable with me sunbathing on the beach or even outside the bungalow,” Martin said.
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Martin → feel → bungalow
“He would say things like ‘You’re dressing like an attention-seeking tart.
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You → say → tart
Martin went on to say that Brand accused her of cheating on him with a married crew member, with whom she had a few conversations with.
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she → go → conversations
“I just felt like I was in a constant state of confusion.
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I → feel → confusion
His energy was so big, that it kind of just made you smaller every time,” Martin told the camera.
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Martin → make → camera
“He had a yoga session, and he had sex with the yoga teacher.
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he → have → teacher
I mean, he told me.
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he → mean → me
I’m like, ‘What am I doing?'”
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I → ’m → What
Martin also claimed that Brand once told her he “should be dating someone more famous than you,” and once forced her to brush her teeth until she was bleeding, because he wanted her to “taste anonymous.”
“It was never enough.
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It → claim → teeth
He’s standing over me, and I’m brushing and brushing, and then I’m seeing my teeth bleeding,” Martin said.
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Martin → stand → me
At this point in the documentary, Martin began to cry, and asked to stop.
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Martin → begin → documentary
After production on Forgetting Sarah Marshall wrapped, Martin described her relationship with Brand as getting “more intense.”
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Martin → forget → Brand
She claimed Brand sexually assaulted her at a hotel in the U.K., after getting angry with her for calling an ex-boyfriend to arrange picking up her stuff.
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Brand → claim → stuff
“He snatched my phone out my hand and broke it apart into pieces.
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He → snatch → pieces
So I kind of snatched the phone back, and went into, like, a separate room,” Martin said.
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Martin → snatch → room
“He walked in.
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He → walk → ?
He didn’t say anything.
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He → say → anything
He put his hand down the front of my jeans.
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He → put → jeans
[She chokes up.
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She → choke → ?
And he inserted a finger and then walked away.”
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he → insert → finger
Martin went on to say, while crying, “I didn’t report it in any way.
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I → go → way
I didn’t share it with anybody.
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I → share → anybody
I sat with it quietly.
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I → sit → it
I look at myself back then, and I feel sorry for myself.
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I → look → myself
Not in a bad or pitying way, I just feel like… it wasn’t very fair, you know?”
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you → feel → way
Martin went on to publish a 2025 memoir about her experiences with Brand, kNot : Entanglement with a Celebrity (a memoir by a woman), under the author name “J.P. Martin.”
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Martin → go → name
She said in the documentary that she was ignored by publicists and press when she reached out about promoting the book.
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she → say → book
The documentary ends with a note of legal text on screen that reads, “Following his conviction and imprisonment, Russell Brand was invited to reply to the claims made in this film through his solicitor but did not respond.”
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Brand → end → solicitor
The Aporia
