Katy Perry’s past remarks about divorcing Russell Brand are resurfacing after The Sunday Times published a story this weekend in which several women accused the comedian and actor of sexual assault.
Speaking to Vogue in 2013, Perry discussed breaking up with Brand, to whom she was married for a little over a year beginning in 2010.
“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,” Perry said in 2013. “I let go and I was like: This isn’t because of me; this is beyond me. So I have moved on from that.”
The quote has resurfaced in the wake of the news about Brand, with some people wondering whether Perry knew about the accusations.
Perry also told Vogue that she believed Brand didn’t like how she was a “boss” while on tour, and that he couldn’t “handle the equalness” of their personalities.
“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,” the singer said. “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.”
According to the story published Saturday ― the result of a joint investigation between multiple U.K. news outlets ― Brand’s alleged assaults happened between 2006 and 2013. One woman said that Brand raped her in his Los Angeles home. Another woman said that he “forced his penis” down her throat when he was 31 and she was 16.
One day before the investigation was released, Brand denied what he called the “very serious criminal allegations” in a video posted to social media, acknowledging that during his acting career, he was “very, very promiscuous.”
“During that time of promiscuity, the relationships I had were absolutely always consensual,” Brand said in the video. “I was always transparent about that then, almost too transparent, and I’m being transparent about it now as well.”
Representatives for Perry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Need help? Visit RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Online Hotline or the National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s website.
