Superdry Co-Founder Denies Rape Charges

0:00On April 29th, James Holder, the 54-year-old co-founder of Super Dry, is denying rape charges from an encounter after a night out in Sheltonham. On May 6th, 2022, he told Gloucester Crown Court it was fully consensual, saying the woman kissed him first and made it clear what she wanted. That night, Holder and a friend hopped into the woman's taxi instead of theirs, heading to her flat to keep the party going. He claimed she offered drinks, played music, and after he napped on her bed, they kissed in the living room before moving to sex that stopped right. Away when she says she felt sore. Holder described himself as old-school chivalrous, with a protective instinct toward women, insisting he checked in constantly and never saw her cry, or resist. He left soon after because he needed to head home to his cotswolds mansion with his friends still asleep on the sofa. Prosecutors grilled him on why he jumped taxis without asking her, and suggested he seized an opportunity for sex, but Holder shot that down, saying, she initiated everything, and he apologized when she mentioned discomfort.

1:04He denied causing any bruises or forcing anything. The trials in his third day, with no dispute sex happened, just overconsent. Holder seemed shocked when police questioned him months later, and the case rolls on as the jury weighs both sides.