On Saturday, three British news organisations reported that comedian and social influencer Russell Brand has been accused of rape, sexual assault and abuse. The allegations were put on him by four women who knew him over a seven-year period at the time of his most famous years in showbiz.
However, he has denied the allegations and claimed that all of his relationships have been consensual.
It was Sunday Times, The Times of London and Channel 4’s “Dispatches” who reported that while one woman alleged she had been raped, others accused him of sexual assault. One of these women also stated how Brand had been physically and emotionally abusive. According to these women, they only felt comfortable to now share their stories due to them being approached by reporters. Also, Brand’s newfound rise as an online wellness influencer amped up their decision to speak up.
Advertisement
However, even before the stories came out, Brand had shared a video online denying the allegations. While he did not name the news organisations by name, he mentioned how the allegations have been outlined in two “extremely disturbing letters” from a “mainstream media” television company and a newspaper.
“Amidst this litany of astonishing, rather baroque attacks are some very serious allegations that I absolutely refute,” Brand said. He added, “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 have written about extensively in my books, I was very, very promiscuous. Now during that time of promiscuity the relationships I had were absolutely, always consensual.”
Advertisement
“I was always transparent about that then, almost too transparent, and I am being transparent about it now as well.” Brand hinted that the recent reports were part of an attack to discredit him because of his views.
Not to miss, Brand has been lashed out by people for expressing scepticism about COVID-19 vaccines, and also interviewing podcasters like Joe Rogan. “To see that transparency metastasized into something criminal, that I absolutely deny, makes me question if there is another agenda at play,” Brand said.
For those caught unaware, he rose to fame in Britain in the early 2000s, and later appeared in Hollywood films like “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” in 2008 and the remake of “Arthur” in 2011. He was even married to US pop star Katy Perry from 2010-2012.
