Moment Russell Brand flashes card saying ‘obey’ to Katy Perry on Oscars red carpet after

Russell Brand was seen flashing a card saying ‘Obey’ to Katy Perry on the Oscars red carpet in an unnerving video from 2010.

The convicted rapist and his pop star wife were interviewed by a GMTV reporter about the event.

As Katy Perry playfully accuses her then-husband of not watching the show, he proceeds to disagree and then tells her off for swearing.

Brand then flashes a small piece of card which reads ‘Obey’ towards the camera, before storming off and leaving the singer alone to finish the interview.

Some on social media interpreted the logo, which was part of a clothing brand, as Brand asserting control over his then-wife.

Ms Perry appeared to be shaken by the interaction and was noticeably subdued in the final moments as she stood alone with the reporter. 

It comes as the pop star prepares to tell all about her ‘dark marriage’ to the disgraced comedian and actor in a new book and docuseries. 

The pair were married for 14 months from 2010 until their divorce in 2011, with Ms Perry maintaining what fans have called a ‘dignified silence’ ever since.

Russel Brand and Katy Perry speaking to GMTV on the Oscars red carpet in 2010

After telling his wife to stop swearing, Brand flashed an ‘Obey’ logo towards the camera

In the interview, Brand is seen walking with Ms Perry on the red carpet, holding a small piece of paper while holding his wife’s hand.

The reporter said: ‘What did you think of the whole shebang?’

Ms Perry quickly interjected, saying, ‘You didn’t watch it’, playfully to her husband.

Unimpressed by his then-wife’s humour, Brand starts reciting one part of the show which he claimed to enjoy.

He said: ‘My favourite bit was when Chalky fell over on the carpet and then Pipsqueak has come over and Sneezy went “no”, that was probably my favourite bit.’

The reporter said to Ms Perry: ‘You have just put him right in it now.’

Brand quickly responded: ‘I did watch the Oscars.’

Ms Perry then told the reporter: ‘I call him on his b*******.’

Brand then immediately pointed at his wife and said, ‘Don’t swear.’

He turned to the camera and told his wife about the show being ‘in England’ as he continued to give her a dressing down about swearing.

At this point, he unfolds the piece of paper that says ‘Obey’ and flashes it in front of the camera. 

The ‘Obey’ logo was part of a clothing line created by street artist Shepard Fairey. 

However, social media users have interpreted the gesture as Brand asserting control over the singer in public. 

Ms Perry then turns away from the camera and reporter, appearing more uncomfortable.

Brand is then asked who he was happy to see win.

‘I’m happy for everyone really,’ he replied, adding: ‘People that won, people that were nominated, people who were just there.

‘The unsung heroes are the people that fill the seats.’

Pop singer Katy Perry pictured with then-husband Russell Brand at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles 

The comedian then walked away from the interview and appeared to look for another reporter, leaving his wife alone to finish the interview.

Despite his abrupt exit, Brand continued to hold Ms Perry’s hand and appeared to try to lead her away with him.

The reporter at this point asked: ‘Katy, how do you deal with this?’

Ms Perry stuttered at first, then responded: ‘No, he is actually hilarious.’

‘Glad you find him funny,’ then quipped the frustrated reporter.

Ms Perry added: ‘I’m speechless, usually I am the bubbly one and I’m just like “oh my god you’re so funny I can’t believe it”.’

Ending the interview, the reporter said: ‘Have a lovely night, I know you are being pulled away, back, left and centre.’ 

The uncomfortable interaction is not the only reason the singer’s name has re-entered discussions surrounding her former husband. 

Ms Perry, 42, was not asked to testify during the trial but it has emerged she may have been in the room during one of Brand’s sexual assaults, which took place in 2009.

During trial, Ian Winter KC, defending Brand, raised the possibility that a witness had been present in the room where he allegedly put his head in a woman’s lap during filming for Channel 4.

Mr Winter, defending, said of the 2009 incident: ‘She [the victim] says that other people were in the room and witnessed it, possibly including the defendant’s future wife, Ms Katy Perry.’

However, Scotland Yard reportedly never approached the singer for a statement about the incident.

A reference to the pop star’s presence was removed from the trial after submissions by Brand’s legal team. 

Ms Perry has yet to comment on his conviction for rape and sexual assault, but The Mail on Sunday has learned that the pop singer is planning to tell all about her ‘dark marriage’ in a book and docuseries. 

Perry pictured performing on stage at Blenheim Palace Festival in July this year. Sources close to the star now say she has been in ‘active discussions’ to tell her side of her 14-month marriage to Brand 

Sources close to the star claim she was waiting for the outcome of Brand’s trial before finalising a deal but has been in ‘active discussions’ to tell her side of their 14-month marriage, which ended in 2011.

A well-placed Hollywood source said: ‘Katy has received multiple offers over the years to tell her story but would not consider anything until after the trial. She has a lot to say.

‘At the moment she’s considering a Netflix-type series and an autobiography. She and her team have been in active discussions.

‘There is a lot about that marriage which people don’t know. It was a very dark period in her life.’

The source claimed her team has been in touch with streaming giants including Netflix and Hulu.

The couple met while filming Get Him To The Greek in 2009, marrying the following year in a Hindu ceremony in India.

However, by the end of 2011 the marriage was over, with Brand dumping Ms Perry by text moments before she was due on stage.

The I Kissed A Girl and Firework singer has hinted she knows more about Brand’s dark side, telling fans this summer that he should be ‘in jail’. She has not spoken about his conviction.

And in an interview with Vogue in 2013, she said: ‘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.

‘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.’

Brand humiliated Ms Perry just weeks before their December 2011 split by removing his wedding ring and joking about ‘bedding’ college girls during a university tour of America.

In a video posted on the Nudevista website, he revealed he was preparing for what he described as ‘a week of revolution’.

Brand told viewers he was looking forward to discovering the antics of female students first-hand, before pointedly removing his wedding ring and joking he would hide it ‘somewhere very, very safe’ while on the road.

He added: ‘I don’t know what a sorority is except for what I have seen (online) that they are sort of sex clubs for women.’

There had been earlier signs the marriage was in trouble.

Ms Perry was said to be furious when her husband posted a photo on social media of her waking up in bed without make-up. The picture was quickly removed.

In July, the singer delivered a devastating parting shot to ex-husband Russell Brand during a concert in the UK, saying he ‘should be in jail’.

She made the extraordinary remark during her appearance at the Blenheim Palace Festival in Oxfordshire when she took part in a question-and-answer session with her fans.

When one asked the singer to act out her reaction to ‘seeing her ex’, Perry shot back: ‘I hope my ex isn’t here. He should be in jail.’

She later said that Brand was jealous of her success. Ms Perry went on to have a decade-long relationship with Orlando Bloom, 49, splitting in June 2025.

She shares a daughter, Daisy Dove, six, with the Pirates of the Caribbean star.

Her relationship with former Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau, 54, began the following month when their paths crossed when she was on tour. He separated from wife Sophie Grégoire in 2023.

Photographs of Mr Trudeau and Ms Perry kissing on a yacht surfaced in October 2025.

She described him as ‘the love of my life’ in interviews surrounding her concert film Katy Perry: The Lifetimes Tour – Live from Paris.