Katy Perry appears to have had the last laugh on her ex-husband Russell Brand after they began their divorce via text message – earning a £180million payday as he faces serious allegations over his behavior with women.
Perry, 38, sold his popular catalog to Litmus Music on Monday, netting a fortune for his stakes in master recordings and publishing rights to five of his albums.
This extraordinary windfall could not contrast more with the man with whom she shared her life, whose own empire seems to be crumbling.
Brand has been accused of a series of lurid allegations from four women, including rape and sexual assault.
He vehemently denies the allegations, which were first reported by Channel 4’s Dispatches and the Sunday Times.
The couple met on the set of Get Him to the Greek, the Hollywood film in which Brand had a starring role.
Brand has been accused of a series of lurid allegations from four women, including rape and sexual assault, and vehemently denies the allegations.
In a now-notorious incident on social media, Brand posted an unflattering photo of Perry on his Twitter page that showed her without any makeup.
Perry has made no comment on the allegations against her estranged husband, but has continued to post unrelated messages on her social media.
Their romance came as a surprise when it first became public 14 years ago.
The couple met on the set of Get Him to the Greek, the Hollywood film in which Brand had a starring role.
She had filmed a cameo for the film and they hit it off immediately – although the scene she was in was ultimately cut.
The couple had a lavish wedding in India at the Ranthambore Tiger Sanctuary in Rajasthan in 2010.
Their marriage was to be short-lived, however, after Brand told the singer he wanted a divorce via text message the following year.
Perry is shown holding a necklace Brand gave her as she sobs uncontrollably just before a concert in Brazil after struggling with the news.
Speaking in an interview with Vogue, the California Gurls singer said she initially took “a lot of responsibility” for the split until she “discovered the real truth”.
Perry said she would keep this “truth,” which she couldn’t “necessarily divulge,” locked away in her safe “for a rainy day.”
Perry and Brand’s romance came as a surprise when it became public 14 years ago.
Perry has remained silent on the matter until now, but questions were raised about what she knew after a 2013 interview with Vogue resurfaced.
This sparked further speculation about what secret the singer was referring to after the divorce.
She said at the time: “He is a very intelligent man and I was in love with him when I married him.
“Let’s just say I haven’t heard from him since he texted me saying he was divorcing me on December 31, 2011.”
Perry added: “I felt very responsible for how this story ended, but then I discovered the real truth, which I can’t necessarily divulge because I keep it locked in my safe for a rainy day .
“I let go and said to myself: it’s not because of me; that beats me. So I moved on.
Brand also seemed to despise Perry’s lifestyle.
Speaking in the 2015 documentary Brand: A Second Coming, filmed during the couple’s wedding, he said: “What’s happening in Africa really struck me.
“I am associated with what I hate: a vapid, meaningless, plastic, constructed and stupid celebrity. It’s the sea we swim in, “Oh, who is he?” …’He’s married to Katy Perry.’
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Elsewhere in the film, Brand was also seen making fun of his wife in a stand-up routine and admitting to his friend Stephen Merchant that he didn’t think their marriage would last.
He told her: “It’s really good, I’m with someone I love.”
“But that’s not a resolution to anything spiritual.”
“I suspect that at some point, to be happy, I’m going to have to walk away.”
This was perhaps most evident by his behavior during their time together.
In an incident now notorious on social media, he posted an unflattering photo of Perry on her Twitter page that showed her without any makeup.
In the frame, the Teenage Dream star seems to have just woken up and has a rather surprised look.
It was quickly deleted from Brand’s Twitter page, which was seen as a sign of his displeasure with its post.
Whatever the truth, it seems the once-close couple couldn’t be further apart in their good fortune or otherwise.