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Content warning: This article includes detailed descriptions of sexual violence, predatory behaviour, and physical violence which some readers may find upsetting.
Russell Brand has worked as a radio host, television presenter, and stand-up comedian. More recently, he has risen to fame online as a "wellness" guru with an interest in conspiracy theories.
On the 16th of September, the result of a joint investigation by the Sunday Times and Channel 4's Dispatches was broadcast on television. In the documentary, four women accuse Brand of perpetrating sexual assault, with the incidents occurring between 2006 and 2013. Brand is also accused of controlling, abusive, and predatory behaviour, as well as harassment and stalking. He is now being investigated by two police forces.
One woman in the documentary alleges that Brand raped her without a condom against a wall in his Los Angeles home, told her that "a friend" wanted to have sex with the pair, and refused to let her leave until she told him she needed to use the bathroom. He reportedly told his victim to "calm down" after trapping and raping her underneath a painting on the wall and blocking her exit. She recalls: "I ran out and I jumped in my car - thank God I didn't park in his driveway - and booked it out of there." That same day, she attended a rape crisis centre, where she attended therapy for the next five months. The woman received a text from Brand which stated: "I'm sorry. That was crazy and selfish. I hope you can forgive me, I know that you're a lovely person." He tried telephoning her but received no answer. Approximately a month later, he texted her again: "Will you ever forgive me?"
A second woman accuses Brand of assaulting her while she was 16. Brand was in his early 30s at the time, and he allegedly referred to her as "the child" during an abusive and controlling relationship, in which he also referred to her as "my baby", cradled her in his arms, and described her as being like a "little dolly". She told the Sunday Times that, on their first date, Brand asked her to confirm she was 16 and said to her: "I don't give a f*** if you're 12...I need to know where I stand legally." She added: "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."
Brand has been accused of using BBC chauffeurs to drive the teenager around London, and the victim recalls how one taxi driver who dropped her off at Brand's home pleaded with her: "Please, I'm asking you not to go in there, you could be my little girl, and I would want someone to do this for her." She recalls being taken out of school lessons when he sent cars for her, and alleges being forced to perform a sex act that caused her to choke. He reportedly only stopped after she hit him in the stomach, and told her: "I only wanted to see your mascara run anyway": a claim with a sentiments eerily similar to that of a joke he told on stage about women performing sex acts for him: "I like it when the mascara runs a little bit".
A third woman, who met Brand at Alcoholics Anonymous before they started working together, alleges sexual assault in early 2013. She recalls being chased, grabbed, and pinned down by Brand, and claims she was "screaming", shouting: "What are you doing, stop, please, you're my friend, I love you, please don't do this, I don't want to do this". She says that her rejections of his advances caused him to "flip" and become "super angry", and he reportedly shouted "f*** you" and "you're fired" at her. She was reportedly threatened with legal action if she reported the assault.
The fourth woman describes Brand as being physically and emotionally abusive towards her, in addition to sexually assaulting her.
Brand's former girlfriend Jordan Martin has previously accused Brand of sexual assault in a self-published book. She recalls Brand's anger when he discovered she had spoken to an ex-boyfriend; he allegedly grabbed her phone, and sexually assaulted her in the bathroom. She accuses him of forcing her to brush her teeth to the point of her gums bleeding, so that she would taste "anonymous" to him. She wrote: "There were times when I felt bullied and abused, not in a physical or sexual way, but mentally. I was vulnerable... His manipulative side was so powerful it was easier to just submit."
An unnamed female comedian has alleged that she was "grabbed" and "bitten" in the face by Band when they gigged together early in the 2000s, and compared his behaviour to the character in the 1987 film "Predator".
After the release of the documentary, The Times was reportedly contacted by "several women" with reports about Brand's behaviour. Although it did not name Brand, the Metropolitan Police also announced that it had received multiple allegations of sexual offences in London and added: "We have also received a number of allegations of sexual offences committed elsewhere in the country and will investigate these." The Met confirmed that the alleged offences, including one which reportedly took place in Soho in 2003, were non-recent.
Helen Berger worked as Brand's personal assistant in 2006, and recalls how he would only wear underwear while she was working. She alleges that Brand would show his friends intimate pictures of women, and recalls an incident in Edinburgh: "I leant in. As he's going through these pictures he gets to a picture of somebody I knew. It did something to me. It made me feel really sick to my stomach. These are women who aren't expecting to be shown to the dude's friends." Liliana dalla Piana, a celebrity assistant who worked for Brand between December 2007 and January 2008, stated that Brand would walk around "with nothing on" or "sometimes just a long kaftan" with no clothes underneath.
One runner, who was 24 when she was working with Brand, recalls an incident in which he allegedly flashed his penis at her, insinuating that she could perform a sexual act for him. She refused, but felt unable to report the incident for fear of losing her job. Brand reportedly continued to pursue her, and he told her that their subsequent relationship had to be kept a "complete secret".
Reports of Brand's behaviour has repeatedly been described as an "open secret", including by one of his accusers, comedian Nish Kumar, and senior TV and radio executives, while comedian Daniel Sloss revealed in the documentary that women had been warning each other to avoid Brand for years. Sloss explained that female comedians had a WhatsApp group which was used to flag potentially dangerous comedians, including Brand.
Lorraine Heggessy, the former controller of BBC One from 2005 until 2005, said there were "numerous examples" of Brand displaying unacceptable behaviour whilst on air. One example was the live phone conversation in which Brand joked about sending his "very attractive" female assistant to Jimmy Savile's house, naked. He told Savile: "I have got a personal assistant...part of her job description is that anyone I demand she greet, meet, massages, she has to do it." Savile joked that he would prefer the assistant "to wear nothing", which Brand responded would "not be a problem". Allegations about the sexual abuse perpetrated by Savile had not yet emerged publicly.
In 2008, Brand and broadcaster Jonathan Ross left a series of vulgar voicemails on actor Andrew Sachs' answerphone, and broadcast the "prank" on radio. Ross taunted Sachs about the fact Brand had "f***ed" Sach's granddaughter, Georgina Baillie, and they joked that Sachs might hang himself as a result. Brand sang: "I said some things I didn't of oughta, like I had sex with your granddaughter, though it was consensual." The incident generated 40,000 complaints.
Footage has emerged of Brand joking about raping and murdering a woman in a recording of Richard Herring's Leicester Square Theatre Podcast in 2013. He says: "I'm just a bloke from Essex, from a single-parent family, that is a pretty comprehensive show off." He pauses, before adding: "Oh and also I raped someone once. I killed her after, she'll never tell." In the same video, he jokes about the ancient Greeks having sex with young children. The video has now been deleted.
Brand has denied the allegations, and claims he received "extremely disturbing" communications from a mainstream TV company and a newspaper, which listed "a litany of extremely egregious and aggressive attacks". He also described the attacks as "baroque", and insisted that he "absolutely refute[s]" the "serious allegations". Brand claims that the alleged incidents took place at a point in his life when he was "very, very promiscuous", but is adamant that all the relationships "were absolutely always consensual.".
He has questioned whether there is "another agenda at play", and theorised as to whether his anti-mainstream attitudes might have fuelled the accusations. He has accused The Times, The Sunday Times, and Channel 4 of organising a "coordinated attack" against him, and told his viewers in a video titled "So, This Is Happening": "I want you to stay close, stay awake, but more important than any of that, if you can, please, stay free." Brand's attorney has declined to comment on the allegations.
Brand has attracted the support of Andrew Tate, an influencer known for his misogynistic views and who is awaiting trial for charges of rape and human trafficking, and promised to tell his supporters "the truth about what's happening to Russell Brand". He tweeted Brand to say "welcome to the club", and shared a post which alleged that Brand was receiving "the Andrew Tate treatment". Brand also seems to have the support of Elon Musk, who responded to his "So, This Is Happening" video with the comment: "Of course. They don't like competition."
Some of Brand's most recent videos include: "They Are Lying To You! Kamala Harris BULLSH*T Big Pharma Speech Exposed!", "So, Trump Just Said THIS About Vaccines And It Changes EVERYTHING", and "Hang on, Biden 9/11 Speech Was A Lie?!"