Russell Brand admits he slept with a 16-year-old when he was 30

Russell Brand has admitted he slept with a 16-year-old when he was 30 — and says he now sees the encounter as “exploitative.”

The 50-year-old, who has been battling multiple allegations of rape and sexual assault in UK courts since 2023, spoke about the encounter during Wednesday’s edition of “The Megyn Kelly Show.”

“The plain fact of it is, in Europe and in the United Kingdom, where I’m from, the age of consent is 16. And I did sleep with a 16-year-old when I was 30,” he said.

“But when I was 30, I was a very different person. I was a lot younger, and I was an immature 30-year-old.”

The “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” actor acknowledged the power imbalance involved.

“Consensual sex, actually, with a variety of people when there is a strong power differential, because there is when you’re a famous man that has the ability to attract women that I had at that time, I think involves exploitation,” he said.

“I think it is exploitative. I recognize that my sexual conduct in the past was selfish and I did not apply enough consideration, barely any, I suppose, really, to how that sex was affecting other people.”

The comments come as the “Get Him to the Greek” star continues to deny a series of accusations that first surfaced in 2023.

Four women accused Brand of rape, sexual assault and emotional abuse over incidents alleged to have taken place between 1999 and 2005.

An additional allegation later emerged from an actress who claimed she was assaulted on the set of “Arthur.”

Brand has consistently denied all allegations.

“I absolutely refute” the claims, he said in a social media response at the time, maintaining that his past relationships were consensual.

In May 2025, Brand pleaded not guilty to charges including rape, indecent assault and sexual assault.

He was charged with an additional count of both rape and sexual assault months later, and he again pleaded not guilty in February.

Brand was initially set to go on trial at London’s Southwark Crown Court on June 16, but the date was pushed back last month to October 12.

“These allegations 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,” Brand said at the time.

“And as I’ve written about extensively in my books, I was very, very promiscuous. 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’m being transparent about it now as well.”

Brand rose to fame in the late 2000s as a comedian before moving into a brief Hollywood career, and later drew attention for his high-profile relationship with singer Katy Perry, which ran from 2009 to 2011.

More recently, he has built a large following as an online commentator, with his new book “How to Become a Christian in Seven Days” set for release next month.

He has been married to Laura Gallacher since 2017, and the couple shares three children.