Bear Grylls reflects on Russell Brand’s Christian conversion: ‘It's our calling to love, serve'
Former British special forces soldier and television host Bear Grylls said Russell Brand appeared sincere in his Christian faith when he attended the comedian’s baptism, adding that believers are called to love and serve any person, after a London jury convicted Brand of rape and sexual assault.
Grylls wrote on X Friday that judgment belonged to the courts and God and that he would never want to put anyone off coming to faith.
Grylls helped baptize Brand in the River Thames close to Henley in 2024, according to The Telegraph. A former soldier in a reserve regiment of the Special Air Service, or SAS, a British special forces unit, Grylls later became a television personality.
Grylls added that he had also gone into prisons to see people “who have committed terrible crimes.” “It is the sick that need healing,” he wrote.
He noted that justice had now been served and that he couldn't imagine how hard the period had been for the victims, whom he called “the heroes of the day.”
After the ceremony, Brand, 51, had shared an Instagram picture showing himself, Grylls and another man embracing in the river. His caption named himself, Grylls, the river “and of course, The Holy Spirit.”
Grylls, a devout Christian, released the devotional book Soul Fuel in 2019. Last year he published The Greatest Story Ever Told, a retelling of the life of Jesus.
On Thursday, a jury at London’s Southwark Crown Court convicted Brand of a single rape count and three counts of sexual assault. Jurors weighed seven charges for roughly eight and a half hours spread over two days.
They acquitted Brand of two other rape charges and of attempted indecent assault, a count lowered from indecent assault in the course of the trial. Six women testified against him.
Judge Joel Bennathan told Brand that he would receive a “custodial sentence of some length,” and held him in custody until sentencing on Monday. The rape conviction carries a possible life sentence.
After the verdict, the Metropolitan Police, London's police force, said it is investigating two additional rape allegations against Brand.
The offenses took place between 2004 and 2009 and involved four women. The rape victim was a fan, then 21, who visited his home in 2009 after seeing him perform stand-up.
In the assault cases, a worker at music channel MTV said he groped her during a party at a Soho bar in 2004. Similarly, a worker at London radio station Choice FM said he pinned her against a wall, groped and kissed her in 2004 or 2005, and a worker at British broadcaster Channel 4 said he forced a massage on her in 2009.
Prosecutors called Brand a “ruthless sexual predator” who used his fame to victimize women. He denied the charges, saying he had been “very, very promiscuous” in the past and that his encounters were “always consensual.”
In his testimony, Brand said no celebrity friend or former entertainment colleague had agreed to give evidence for him. His trial lawyer, Ian Winter, asked whether such people would “touch you with a barge pole,” and Brand answered, “No.”
Brand told the court he had been “comfortable” letting his fame “facilitate sexual access” and had devoted much of his life to “philandering.”
He spoke about religion several times during the proceedings, saying once that he felt “blessed” and was “praying for everyone involved.” He carried Bibles and crucifixes in and out of the courtroom.
Once the trial’s opening week ended, he released an hour-long “Sunday Service” video online. In it, Brand and his wife, Laura Gallacher, wore dressing gowns, prayed and talked about “putting on the full armor of God.”
In May, Brand published a book titled How to Become a Christian in 7 Days.
London’s police force (the Met) said detectives spoke to over 100 witnesses, gathered hundreds of statements and went through documents and recordings of Brand’s own work. The Met called the verdict “first and foremost a testament” to the courage of the women who reported him.
Brand’s baptism took place in April 2024. Some questioned his conversion because it came about seven months after The Times, The Sunday Times and Channel 4’s “Dispatches” program first reported allegations from four women in September 2023.
Brand has said his faith saved him from addiction. In a 2025 interview, he said God used that addiction and the demonic attacks that followed to bring him closer to Him.
