Katy Perry seemingly hinted at Russell Brand’s secrets years before sexual abuse claims came to light.
In a 2013 interview with Vogue, which has resurfaced amid the ongoing allegations against Brand, the “Firework” singer spoke about her “controlling” ex-husband and their “really hurtful” marriage.
Perry, 38, told the outlet she was “in love” with Brand, 48, when she married him in India on Oct. 23, 2010. However, the two divorced just 14 months later after she received a breakup text from him on New Year’s Eve in 2011.
She admitted that she initially blamed herself for the split – until she “found out the real truth” about the comedian.
“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.’ 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,” Perry said at the time.
“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. I let go and I was like, ‘This isn’t because of me; this is beyond me.’ So I have moved on from that.”
Perry has yet to disclose what “truth” she was alluding to in that interview, but many fans are now speculating that she was referring to Brand’s dark past amid the new allegations. Page Six has reached out to reps for the “Wide Awake” singer for comment.
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As previously reported, four women accused Brand of rape, sexual assault and emotional abuse in incidents that allegedly took place from 2006 and 2013 in a bombshell exposé that was published Saturday by the Sunday Times.
One of the unnamed accusers alleged that the “Get Him to the Greek” star raped her “against a wall” in his home in Los Angeles in 2012. She claimed to the outlet that she has medical records to substantiate her allegations after fleeing to a rape center for help the following day.
A second victim alleged she and Brand were in an “emotionally abusive and controlling” relationship when she was just 16 years old and he was 31. She claimed Brand assaulted her and even referred to her as a “child” throughout the course of their alleged romance.
Brand vehemently denied all of the “extremely disturbing” accusations in a video posted via Instagram on Friday, one day before the exposé was released.
“I have received two extremely disturbing letters, or a letter and an email, one from a mainstream media TV company, one from a newspaper, listing a litany of egregious and aggressive attacks. Amidst this litany of astonishing, rather baroque attacks, are some very serious allegations that I absolutely refute,” he said.
“When I was in the movies, and as I’ve written about extensively in my books, I was very, very promiscuous. During that time of promiscuity, the relationships that I had were absolutely always consensual.”
The “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” actor continued on, saying he seriously refutes these “very, very serious” criminal allegations.
“[There are] witnesses whose evidence directly contradicts the narratives that these two mainstream media outlets are trying to construct, apparently, in what seems to me to be a coordinated attack,” he said, referencing The Sunday Times’ joint investigation with The Times and Channel 4’s “Dispatches.”
“I don’t want to get into this any further because of the serious nature of the allegations but I feel like I’m being attacked and plainly they are working very closely together.”
Reps for Brand did not immediately respond to Page Six’s requests for further comment.
