Russell Brand has been accused of rape and sexual assault by multiple women in a joint investigation from the publicly-owned Channel 4 news network and the Sunday Times in Britain.
The British comedian vehemently denied any wrongdoing and pre-empted the publication of the allegations, posting a video on Friday evening in which he said that although he has lived a “promiscuous” life, all of his sexual interactions were consensual.
Brand went on to suggest that the publication of the allegations — stemming from between 2006 and 2013 — may have been politically motivated, asserting that there is a “serious and concerted agenda to control” independent media personalities in order to silence voices critical of mainstream liberal narratives.
The investigation, part of which was published on Saturday by The Sunday Times, claimed that four women have come forward with complaints of rape, sexual assault, as well as controlling and abusive behaviour from when he served as a presenter on BBC Radio 2 and the left-leaning publicly-owned Channel 4 and then later during his time as an actor in Hollywood.
One woman told news outlets that she had been raped by Brand in his then-Los Angeles home and that she had sought treatment at a rape crisis centre later that day. The paper claimed to have seen text messages from the hours after the alleged incident in which she relayed to the actor that she felt that she had been taken advantage of and writing: “When a girl say[s] NO it means no.” To which Brand is said to have replied that he was “very sorry”.
A second woman claimed that he had sexually assaulted her when she was 16 years old. She claimed that during a relationship that lasted three months, he had referred to her as “the child” and had once choked her as he “forced his penis down her throat” prompting her to punch him in the stomach to stop him.
“Russell engaged in the behaviours of a groomer, looking back, but I didn’t even know what that was then, or what that looked like,” she said while claiming that Brand had told her not to send images of herself to him, which she said was likely because of her age.
Another claimed that he sexually assaulted her while they worked together in Los Angeles while claiming that Brand had threatened to sue her if she went public with her claims. Finally, a fourth said that the comedian had sexually assaulted her and had been physically and emotionally abusive.
This is happening pic.twitter.com/N8zIKLbJN2
— Russell Brand (@rustyrockets) September 15, 2023
In a video posted before the publication of the accusations, Brand, who has often spoken publicly about having overcome both drug and sex addictions, said on Friday: “Now, during that time of promiscuity, the relationships I had were absolutely always consensual. I was always transparent about that then, almost too transparent, and I’m being transparent about it now as well.
“And to see that transparency metastasized into something criminal that I absolutely deny makes me question, is there another agenda at play?”
“I’m aware that you guys have been saying in the comments for a while [saying] ‘watch out, Russell. They’re coming for you, you’re getting too close to the truth, Russell Brand did not kill himself’,” he continued.
“I know that a year ago there was a spate of articles – Russell Brand’s a conspiracy theorist, Russell Brand’s right wing. I’m aware of news media making phone calls, sending letters to people I know for ages and ages.
“I don’t mind them using my books and my stand-up to talk about my promiscuous consensual conduct in the past. What I seriously refute are these very, very serious criminal allegations.”
The Sunday Times said that the four women decided to go public with their accusations “only after being approached by reporters” and that some were motivated by “Brand’s newfound prominence” as an online personality.
While still considering himself a member of the political left, Brand has drawn considerable backlash in the legacy media for his contrary positions on subjects such as the Chinese coronavirus, vaccines, and the war in Ukraine, among other topics.
The paper said that over the past few years, “reporters have interviewed hundreds of sources who knew or worked with Brand,” including former girlfriends, family, friends, and colleagues as well as having “scrutinised” his books and spent “hundreds of hours” listening to his shows and other media appearances to “corroborate allegations.”
According to The Sunday Times, allegations of “sinister behaviour” from Brand was said to have been talked about as an “open secret” among media executives and fellow female comedians, but that the “women involved previously felt unable to speak out.”