Russell Brand accused of rape and sexual assault

[Orphia Nay]

Four women have made accusations against Russell Brand, and he denies them.

"The investigation is published in the Sunday Times, while the Dispatches documentary, Russell Brand - In Plain Sight, aired on Channel 4 on Saturday."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-66831593

[MarkCorrigan]

Not even remotely a surprise.

I know it's a second hand story but I'm always reminded of the story my brother's ex-wife told us. She used to work at a major theatre here in the UK that Russel Brand performed at. Gig went off reasonably well, but at the end of the gig, Brand requested that the staff have all the women who wanted to meet him after the show line up against the wall. He came out of his dressing room and picked, and I'm quoting said ex here verbatim "the 4 youngest looking ones" and took them into his dressing room to "party".

There were used condoms in there afterwards.

[TalosMarr]

Wasn't there a similar thing about Brand a few years ago? I thought that's why the rest of us stopped hearing about him a while back.

Why are all the claimed instances of incident reporting to agents or the BBC (save the singular rape crisis center documentation) instead of the police? Is that a UK thing or is it just the reporters taking police reports as a given so they don't need to be commented on? ETA: Or can't be commented on?

[jadebox]

Originally Posted by TalosMarr

Wasn't there a similar thing about Brand a few years ago? I thought that's why the rest of us stopped hearing about him a while back.

It sounded like Deja Vu to me also, but looking around, all I can find about him in the past are a couple of run-ins with reporters or photographers.

[Orphia Nay]

Of course Brand sees it as a conspiracy.

https://apnews.com/article/8e501489f...e33f4e113d04e9

"Brand also suggested that the reports were part of a coordinated attack designed to discredit him because of his views. Brand has been criticized for expressing skepticism about COVID-19 vaccines and interviewing contentious podcasters like Joe Rogan.

"“To see that transparency metastasized into something criminal, that I absolutely deny, makes me question is there another agenda at play,” Brand said."

[angrysoba]

Originally Posted by Orphia Nay

Of course Brand sees it as a conspiracy.

Does he “see it as a conspiracy”? Or is it more likely that he knows whether they are true. Or not.

I can’t stand Brand, but I think allegations like this are better off being handled by the police, otherwise they come across as gossip. His fans will see it as a conspiracy and his enemies will say “yep, not surprised at all!”

ETA: that said, there seems to be something undeniable about many of the allegations.

[dann]

Originally Posted by TalosMarr

Why are all the claimed instances of incident reporting to agents or the BBC (save the singular rape crisis center documentation) instead of the police? Is that a UK thing or is it just the reporters taking police reports as a given so they don't need to be commented on? ETA: Or can't be commented on?

Maybe a result of investigative reporting: One woman's story leading to the next. I doubt that the women were the ones who reported it to the the BBC.
DR, the 'Danish BBC', had a podcast a few years ago about online extortion of women. They were made to humiliate and cut themselves on video. It was reported DR by a man who had seen some of those videos. The victims weren't the ones who reported it in the first place.
DR investigated the case, which was then handed over to the police.
Mænd der ødelægger kvinder [Men who destroy women] (DR.dk, Jan 19, 2020)

I have no idea if Brand is guilty of what he has been accused of, but stranger things have happened.
By the way, this is far from his first conspiracy theory:

Quote:

Jonathan Allum, Dr Helen Hintjens, Dr Daniel Gay and Andy Ruff respond to an article by George Monbiot on the comedian’s far-right conspiracy theories
(...)
"Brand interviewed Jordan Peterson not long ago, and it felt like love. Both expressed that wounded male pride that underpins the exploitation of feelings of sexual inadequacy in (older, white) men by the far right. And it works. See the US philosopher Jason Stanley’s book, How Fascism Works."
Russell Brand’s descent into conspiracy politics (TheGuardian, Mar 14, 2023)

[zooterkin]

Originally Posted by MarkCorrigan

Not even remotely a surprise.

I know it's a second hand story but I'm always reminded of the story my brother's ex-wife told us. She used to work at a major theatre here in the UK that Russel Brand performed at. Gig went off reasonably well, but at the end of the gig, Brand requested that the staff have all the women who wanted to meet him after the show line up against the wall. He came out of his dressing room and picked, and I'm quoting said ex here verbatim "the 4 youngest looking ones" and took them into his dressing room to "party".

There were used condoms in there afterwards.

It's no secret he was very sexually active; he wrote and spoke about it himself. I'm not seeing any suggestion of coercion or abuse in your story.

[Orphia Nay]

Originally Posted by zooterkin

It's no secret he was very sexually active; he wrote and spoke about it himself. I'm not seeing any suggestion of coercion or abuse in your story.

The suggestion was in relation to age. One of the recent accusers was 16 and she says it felt like he'd been grooming her.

[Ian Osborne]

Has anyone seen the Channel Four documentary yet?

[Nessie]

The Times and Channel 4 have been keen to emphasise the thoroughness of their investigation. I suspect that is because they know there will be a backlash from Brand himself and his supporters.

I fear there is a bigger picture, where faith in the police and courts is at an all-time low, so the press can fill the void with trial by media.

The claims need to be followed up by a criminal investigation and if those who gave statements to the journalists, back down when speaking to the police, or faced with giving evidence in court, then we see why we need to respect innocent until proven.

[Vixen]

The TIMES article, which is behind a paywall can be read here in the archives:

https://archive.ph/NwmVQ

[Vixen]

I was part of a small circle of friends who used to go to various Mark Thomas gigs. I thought it would be nice to check out Russell Brand as he seemed to be equally 'edgy' and socially perspicacious. This was some eleven years ago. So I bought a couple of tickets. So I made my way to Fairfields Hall Croydon after work via a cattle truck from London Bridge to East Croydon and then a connecting link. My friend hadn't been sure if she could come and she didn't turn up. Later she said she couldn't stand him. Anyway, Brand was late. We kept being told in a half empty theatre that he was due to arrive soon. Two hours later he turned up. The act was dire. It involved him ringing up some local woman whilst pretending to be a radio station - this was even after the 2008 Andrew Sachs incident, when he rang up Sachs tto say he'd slept with his granddaughter - it was mildly funny initially but the whole thing fell flat. I hardly had a chuckle at all. I realised he only bothered to turn up at all because he didn't want to refund us our tickets. I was lucky to get the last train home, having to traverse dark empty trains stations and dimly lit streets at one o'clock in the morning. I have despised Russell Brand ever since.

Strangely, I have managed to find an EVENING STANDARD review of that gig headed 'Not Brand's Finest Hour'. It's telling that what the reviewer recalls is Brand's recounting of a session with 'two fat prostitutes in Reading'.

Quote:

B
usy times for Russell Brand. A best-selling autobiography to plug, meeting the Queen and Richard and Judy. It was no surprise that he was inconsistent in Croydon on Friday. Not even a banner demanding "Pull down your trousers and pants" could fire him up. Which was a shame, because Brand was intermittently brilliant at mixing erudition and sleaze. Few stand-ups can say "I was having it off with two fat prostitutes in Reading" and turn a sordid event into a picaresque anecdote. He may not be a great role model, but he can certainly tell a great story.

https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/c...r-7401926.html

[Andy_Ross]

Lots of right wing, blue tickers and GB News presenters rushing to support Brand on Twitter. Presumed innocent, trial by media etc.

All the same ones that were eager to pile on against Huw Edwards and Phillip Schofield recently.

[Vixen]

AIUI according to CPS statistics, reporting a rape can take years to go to trial. Something like only 1% of all rape reports lead to convictions. These tend to be where there is clear violence involved and stranger upon stranger, when of course, many rape incidents are date rapes or people the victim knows; for example, work colleagues. The police don't want to get involved because it is so hard to convict.

Russell Brand with his post-hippy 'free love' personna and 'love the one you're with' could get away with it, like so many rock stars, footballers, actors, celebrities, royalty, because he was famous and not completely unattractive (if you squint your eyes a bit and look sideways, after a few drinks). It is an unspoken truism that with fame, comes power and lots of attractive women. With everyone 'at it', where do the police even begin?

[zooterkin]

Review of the TV programme - https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-r...ed-for-so-long

Quote:

"Don’t be afraid of your own sexuality,” we see him tell a guest on his chatshow, in a clip dug up by Dispatches. “Do be a bit afraid of mine though.” During an interview on Conan O’Brien’s US talkshow, Brand told the host: “You don’t wanna be around when the laughter stops.” One old standup routine, joking about enjoying “them blowjobs where mascara runs a little bit”, spookily echos the exact words of one of the programme’s allegations.

The title In Plain Sight has been carefully chosen. Dispatches has found further evidence of Brand not hiding his misogyny, drawn from the same stint as a Radio 2 presenter that led to his biggest previous controversy in 2008, when he was fired for broadcasting crass voicemails he’d left for the actor Andrew Sachs. In retrospect, it is amazing Brand lasted as long as he did: Dispatches plays the audio of him making demeaning sexual remarks about his show’s female newsreader, and conducting an interview with a celebrity guest where he joked about sending his (named) female assistant to visit the star, stripped naked. The interviewee in question: Jimmy Savile.

[Vixen]

I love how Bob Geldoff called him a '****'.

[Andy_Ross]

Piers Morgan and Lord Sugar defending Brand now

[Andy_Ross]

I think for a lot of them it's because Brand said bad things about the vax, big pharma, the EU, and the 'establishment, so they know he’s innocent and being persecuted to 'cancel' him.

[zooterkin]

Originally Posted by Andy_Ross

Piers Morgan and Lord Sugar defending Brand now

Plus Elon Musk and Andrew Tate.

[Andy_Ross]

Musk seems to have deleted a bunch of his tweets since the program went to air

[angrysoba]

Originally Posted by Andy_Ross

Musk seems to have deleted a bunch of his tweets since the program went to air

Hmmm… maybe he had a similar initial knee-jerk reaction that I did.

[Andy_Ross]

I wonder how much hush money has been paid and how many NDAs signed?

[trustbutverify]

Originally Posted by Andy_Ross

Musk seems to have deleted a bunch of his tweets since the program went to air

They should engrave that on his headstone.

[MarkCorrigan]

Originally Posted by zooterkin

It's no secret he was very sexually active; he wrote and spoke about it himself. I'm not seeing any suggestion of coercion or abuse in your story.

Originally Posted by Orphia Nay

The suggestion was in relation to age. One of the recent accusers was 16 and she says it felt like he'd been grooming her.

Exactly.

[Matthew Best]

Originally Posted by Andy_Ross

I think for a lot of them it's because Brand said bad things about the vax, big pharma, the EU, and the 'establishment, so they know he’s innocent and being persecuted to 'cancel' him.

It was SO obvious they were going to go after Russell Brand, after he spoke out on YouTube about Big Pharma, the vaccine, mainstream media’s lies, the government’s corruption, and all those sexual assaults he did.

https://twitter.com/BigBillMoon/stat...71102975574338

[dann]

Took bad that something like this isn't a reportable crime:

Quote:

FULL CLAIM: COVID-19 vaccines are responsible for the rise in heart attacks in young people; “They got through the whole report without mentioning lockdowns or vaccines, which it would seem ought to be part of any reasonable debate and exploration into what has caused this 30 percent spike in heart disease”

On 27 February 2023, comedian Russell Brand published a YouTube video about a new study reporting a rise in heart attacks in young people. In the video, Brand took aim at a CBS News interview discussing the study. In the fashion of “just asking questions”, he asked why COVID-19 would be considered as the explanation for the rise in heart attacks, while factors such as vaccines and lockdowns were being overlooked, and suggested that the truth was being hidden. The video has received more than a million views to date.
Scientific evidence shows that COVID-19 vaccines don’t increase the risk of heart attacks, contrary to Russell Brand video (HealthFeedback)

Even more so when actual doctors instead of 'comedians' spread antivaxxer lies.

Quote:

Doctors who repeatedly and blatantly contradict themselves, convincing parents that rare vaccine side effects are a fate worse than death, don’t deserve our trust.
Medical Conservatives: A High Rate of COVID-Myocarditis is “Good News”, A Low Rate of Vaccine-Myocarditis is “Deeply Concerning” (Science-Based Medicine, Jan 30, 2023)

[zooterkin]

Originally Posted by MarkCorrigan

Exactly.

Ok, but not, in itself, evidence of anything illegal, which the latest allegations are.

[MarkCorrigan]

Originally Posted by zooterkin

Ok, but not, in itself, evidence of anything illegal, which the latest allegations are.

Never claimed it was, just why I'm not surprised at all.

[Thermal]

Is this guy like a British Kardashian? I've heard the name and recognize the face but can't place him actually doing anything?

[Darat]

Originally Posted by Thermal

Is this guy like a British Kardashian? I've heard the name and tecognize the face but can't place him actually doing anything?

Was in a few Hollywood movies, had a celeb marriage/girlfiend or two, the last few years he's turned being a contrarian into being an almost cult leader and made it a profitable business.

[catsmate]

Originally Posted by Darat

Was in a few Hollywood movies, had a celeb marriage/girlfiend or two, the last few years he's turned being a contrarian into being an almost cult leader and made it a profitable business.

Don't forget the sex and heroin addictions.

[Agatha]

Originally Posted by Thermal

Is this guy like a British Kardashian? I've heard the name and recognize the face but can't place him actually doing anything?

He was married to Katy Perry and dumped her by text as she was about to go on stage. He was in several films when he lived in America - Get Him to the Greek, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Trolls, Despicable Me. Now he's an anti-establishment youtube wellness guru (whatever that means) and does standup comedy.

[Orphia Nay]

Originally Posted by MarkCorrigan

Not even remotely a surprise.

I know it's a second hand story but I'm always reminded of the story my brother's ex-wife told us. She used to work at a major theatre here in the UK that Russel Brand performed at. Gig went off reasonably well, but at the end of the gig, Brand requested that the staff have all the women who wanted to meet him after the show line up against the wall. He came out of his dressing room and picked, and I'm quoting said ex here verbatim "the 4 youngest looking ones" and took them into his dressing room to "party".

There were used condoms in there afterwards.

Originally Posted by Vixen

The TIMES article, which is behind a paywall can be read here in the archives:

https://archive.ph/NwmVQ

From the article, similar accusations:

Quote:

During the early years of Brand’s TV career as a Channel 4 presenter, there were repeated incidents which raise questions about his interactions with young women while working for them.
TV researchers and runners who worked on Channel 4 shows during this period allege that Brand would get staff to approach young female audience members so he could meet them after filming.
Two former crew members, working on Big Brother’s EFourum, a live spin-off debate show presented by Brand that would become Big Brother’s Big Mouth, separately claim this made them feel like they were working as a “pimp” for Brand.

[Orphia Nay]

Creeps like Brand appears to be seem to think that if they've had consenting sex with a person once, that means they can subsequently do anything they like with them.

One instance of consent is not a "get out of jail free" card.

[crescent]

Originally Posted by Agatha

Now he's an anti-establishment youtube wellness guru (whatever that means) and does standup comedy.

He's in with a group that is not quite conservative nor liberal. Brand, RFK Jr., Mike Shellenberger, Matt Taibbi, Joe Rogan.

Endless podcasts, but most of them don't seem to have the attention span to write anything down and I'm much more of a reader than a listener so I mostly don't follow them. I have heard of the group referred to as the "Contrarian Caucus".

[angrysoba]

Originally Posted by crescent

He's in with a group that is not quite conservative nor liberal. Brand, RFK Jr., Mike Shellenberger, Matt Taibbi, Joe Rogan.

Endless podcasts, but most of them don't seem to have the attention span to write anything down and I'm much more of a reader than a listener so I mostly don't follow them. I have heard of the group referred to as the "Contrarian Caucus".

Yes, they tend to be IDW-types, Covid contrarians, not-Trump-fans-but-give-maximum-benefit-of-the-doubt-to-him who have gone so far to the left that they have ended up on the right, Red Pillers, etc...

It's not just those who Brand is essentially affiliated with, but also Tucker Carlson, Jimmy Dore, Jordan Peterson, etc...

[Orphia Nay]

I've heard Brand referred to as "Andrew Tate with hair".

Originally Posted by angrysoba

Yes, they tend to be IDW-types, Covid contrarians, not-Trump-fans-but-give-maximum-benefit-of-the-doubt-to-him who have gone so far to the left that they have ended up on the right, Red Pillers, etc...

It's not just those who Brand is essentially affiliated with, but also Tucker Carlson, Jimmy Dore, Jordan Peterson, etc...

What's IDW?

[angrysoba]

Originally Posted by Orphia Nay

I've heard Brand referred to as "Andrew Tate with hair".



What's IDW?

The Intellectual Dark Web.

It was basically assembled by Eric Weinstein, his brother, Brett, his sister-in-law, Sam Harris, Jordan Peterson, Joe Rogan, Michael Shermer and a few others, who had a big New York Times article written up about them by Bari Weiss complete with photo-shoot to announce that they were too edgy for the mainstream media. Unfortunately, claims to being "intellectual" were massively undermined at the start by including Dave Rubin in the group.

[Orphia Nay]

Originally Posted by angrysoba

The Intellectual Dark Web.

It was basically assembled by Eric Weinstein, his brother, Brett, his sister-in-law, Sam Harris, Jordan Peterson, Joe Rogan, Michael Shermer and a few others, who had a big New York Times article written up about them by Bari Weiss complete with photo-shoot to announce that they were too edgy for the mainstream media. Unfortunately, claims to being "intellectual" were massively undermined at the start by including Dave Rubin in the group.

I had to look up Dave Rubin too (he seems nice /s ) and learned that the *lovely* Ben Shapiro is one of the IDW too.

Brand keeps good company, I see.