Russell Brand postpones all tour dates as Met receives alleged sexual assault report

Russell Brand has 6.61 million subscribers on YouTube, about the same number he had before the latest allegations of rape, sexual assault and emotional abuse became public.

It’s a sizable audience – slightly larger, for example, than the healthier Ant and Dec can attract for ITV on a Saturday night – and one that clearly hasn’t been so repulsed by the claims about it to make the effort to unsubscribe. Google (corporately listed as Alphabet Inc), owner of YouTube, has also not seen fit to “cancel” Brand, who must generate substantial revenue for them (and himself).

As became clear the same night the story broke, Brand could still fill a theater, although his performance was reportedly distracting. His followers, wrong or not, continue to support him, with most commenting that he is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, that is, beyond a reasonable doubt and setting a relatively high bar before they withdraw their adulation. .

Comedian plagued by scandals. Hollywood Husband. Drug addict turned wellness guru. Left-wing activist. Conspiracy theory. Over two decades in the spotlight, British presenter and comedian Russell Brand has introduced audiences to many different personalities. Now another darker side to the comic has emerged, as he has been accused of rape, sexual assault and emotional abuse of four women.

Brand posted a video on Saturday, September 17 before the allegations were made public to deny “serious criminal allegations,” which he said were related to his “promiscuous” past.

The 48-year-old comedian and actor said he “absolutely refutes” the claims and suggested two “major media outlets” were carrying out a “coordinated” attack on him. Later that day, a joint Sunday Times and Channel 4 Dispatches investigation was published, revealing the allegations against him.

The allegations made against Russell Brand are “one of television’s MeToo moments”, the former Channel 4 managing editor has said.

Dorothy Byrne told Channel 4 News: “Historically there has been a culture on television of tolerating the appalling behavior of some men on the basis that they consider themselves stars.”

Dame Maria Miller MP, former culture secretary and minister for women, suggested that non-disclosure agreements should be banned in the entertainment industry if they have been used to silence people over alleged incidents involving Russell Brand.

She told Sky News’ Politics Hub that the organizations involved should provide “an explanation as to why they did not have practices in place for people who wanted to speak”.

“I think they need to be held accountable for the way they treat their staff,” he said.

“I also want to delve further into some of the comments that were made over the weekend about people not yet feeling able to speak about these cases and, in particular, comments from both the BBC and the talent company that were made to me feel that perhaps disclosure agreements had not been used that could lead to people being silenced about things that are now clearly issues that could constitute criminal charges.”

When asked whether the use of confidentiality agreements should be looked at, he responded: “We have seen not only in this case but in other cases where media organizations have been…routinely using industry standard provisions on secrecy of non-disclosure within the contracts they use when people suffer irregularities at work. “I hope this is not the case here, but if it is, I hope it prompts the Government to take action.”

He added: “Steps have been taken to stop the use of NDAs in universities and perhaps this case with Russell Brand, if there are confidentiality agreements involved, would indicate that we should take the same steps to ban their use in… the industry. entertainment. also.”

Russell Brand’s publisher has announced that he is “pausing” all future book projects with the comedian after sexual assault allegations were made against him.

Bluebird, an imprint of Pan Macmillan, has published Brand titles including Recovery: Freedom from Our Addictions and Mentoring: How to Help and Get Help in recent years.

In a statement to the PA news agency, the company said: “These are very serious allegations and, in light of them, Bluebird has made the decision to suspend all future publications with Russell Brand.”

Bluebird was due to publish an upcoming title, Recovery: The Workbook, from the 48-year-old actor and presenter in December 2025, according to the company’s website.

“Why are you only talking about this now?” “Why didn’t they report it to the police?” “Did they bring it on themselves?” “Are they doing it for money?” “Is this all just a plan to take down another successful man?”

It doesn’t matter if it’s the president of the United States, a comedian, or someone’s brother-in-law: when women speak out about alleged male violence, we hear the same predictable responses.

Even before The Sunday Times shared the sexual assault and rape allegations, thousands of people took to social media to criticize the women as liars, attention-seekers, fame-hungers, mentally ill… even government plants.

Anything but tell the truth.

Shortly after the premiere of “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” Kristen Bell told interviewers that she had to “intimidate” her co-star Russell Brand to make sure he understood that she was not interested in having a sexual relationship with him during filming.

Her memories of her time with the British actor and comedian have come to light in the wake of allegations that he raped and sexually assaulted several women at the height of his fame.

A joint investigation by The Times, The Sunday Times and Channel 4 Dispatches highlighted the stories of four women, including one who was a minor at the time, who say Brand raped or sexually assaulted them between 2006 and 2013. Brand has denied the accusations.

Katy Perry’s brief relationship with Russell Brand generated a number of headlines when the seemingly unlikely couple were first linked in 2009, and even more so when they split just 14 months after their wedding.

The British comedian, 48, has been accused of rape, sexual assault and emotional abuse during the height of his fame by four women. The claims were made in a joint investigation by The Sunday Times, The Times and Channel 4’s Dispatches.

Brand has strongly denied all of the “very serious” allegations leveled against him, dating back to between 2006 and 2013, and has insisted that his past relationships have been “absolutely always consensual.”

Perry, 38, has not addressed the allegations against her ex-husband. However, she has spoken out in the past about the circumstances surrounding her split from Brand, and she previously revealed that he ended their relationship with her via text message.

Katie Rosseinsky reports: