Russell Brand has been accused of sexual assault, rape, and emotional abuse after a joint investigation by The Sunday Times, The Times and Channel 4’s Dispatches. According to the investigation, Brand is being accused by four separate women of sexual assaults between 2006 and 2013.
The Sunday Times piece was released on the outlet’s website earlier on Saturday, while Channel 4 was set to air the latest Dispatches documentary: Russell Brand – In Plain Sight.Apart from the rape and sexual assault allegations, the investigation also spotlights Brand’s alleged abusive and predatory behavior.
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The four women remained anonymous within the piece, while many outside seemed to corroborate those stories. None of the four women reportedly know each other. One woman alleged Brand raped her at his Los Angeles home, with medical records obtained by The Times seeming to confirm she had sought treatment at a rape crisis center.A second alleged Brand assaulted her while she was 16, still in school, and with others reportedly confirming the relationship. A third claimed sexual assault while working with Brand in Los Angeles, including an alleged threat the comedian made about legal action. A fourth also alleged sexual assault while adding Brand was physically and emotionally abusive.
While the outlets delayed releasing the full details on Friday, teasing the release and publication the next day, Brand took a step to defend himself before the allegations dropped. The comedian dropped a video on YouTube and social media addressing the allegations, denying his wrongdoing and calling these aggressive attacks against him due to a “co-ordinated” media attack.
“These allegations pertain to the time when I was working in the mainstream, when I was in the newspapers all the time, when I was in the movies, and as I’ve written about extensively in my books I was very, very promiscuous,” Brand said in his video statement. “Now during that time of promiscuity the relationships I had were absolutely, always consensual.”
The BBC, Channel 4 and others connected to the piece spoke out with statements pertaining to Brand, the allegations, and where they are going from here. The literary and talent agency Tavistock Wood addressed the allegations and claims made by the teenage girl that she told Brand’s literary agent Angharad Wood, the co-founder of the company.
“Russell Brand categorically and vehemently denied the allegation made in 2020, but we now believe we were horribly misled by him. Tavistock Wood has terminated all professional ties to Brand,” the statement said. Channel 4 said they are looking to determine the full nature of their role in the allegations, including those made by those who worked with Brand regarding actions while host.
“Channel 4 is appalled to learn of these deeply troubling allegations, including behaviour alleged to have taken place on programmes made for Channel 4 between 2004 and 2007,” their statement said. “We will continue to review this in light of any further information we receive, including the accounts of those affected individuals. We will be asking the production company who produced the programmes for Channel 4 to investigate these allegations and report their findings properly and satisfactorily to us.”
BBC News notes that Channel 4 had undergone “extensive change” in management and philosophy to ensure “the TV industry is safe and inclusive.” BBC also released a statement due to their connection to the host, making sure to highlight their controversial split at the same time.
“Russell Brand worked for a number of different [organizations], of which the BBC was one. As is well known, Russell Brand left the BBC after a serious editorial breach in 2008 – as did the then-controller of Radio 2,” BBC’s statement noted. “Indeed, the BBC has, over successive years, evolved its approach to how it manages talent and how it deals with complaints or issues raised…We have clear expectations around conduct at work. These are set out in employment contracts, the BBC Values, the BBC code of conduct, and the anti-bullying and harassment policy.
“We will always listen to people if they come forward with any concerns, on any issue related to any individual working at the BBC, past or present,” they added. We’ll keep bringing the latest details on these allegations as they are released.
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