Four women have come forward to British outlets.
Content warning: This article contains descriptions of sexual assault and abuse.
British police are looking into “a number of allegations of sexual offenses” after a joint investigation published last week by three major U.K. outlets that accused the comedian Russell Brand of rape, sexual assault, and emotional abuse. London’s Metropolitan Police confirmed in a statement that they opened the probe after the bombshell report and “have also received a number of allegations of sexual offenses committed elsewhere in the country.”
Brand, who’s known for his roles in Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Get Him to the Greek, has denied the allegations in a video he posted ahead of the bombshell report and its accompanying documentary, In Plain Sight.
Since the story broke, event promoters postponed a handful of Brand’s live performances, and his book publisher, Bluebird, said it has decided to “pause all future publishing with Russell Brand” in light of these “very serious allegations.” Meanwhile, Tavistock Wood Management Agency, which represents the comedian, has dropped him from its roster, saying the talent agency was “horribly misled” by Brand when they previously asked him about these alleged incidents.
Here’s a breakdown of the allegations against the comedian and how Brand’s responded.
What are the allegations against Russell Brand?
The Sunday Times, The Times of London newspapers, and the television program Channel 4 Dispatches reported that Brand sexually assaulted four women between 2006 and 2013, when the actor and comedian was at the height of his fame. At the time, he was a host for BBC Radio 2 and Channel 4 and had starred in several blockbuster films.
One woman accused Brand of raping her against a wall in his Los Angeles home. The woman was reportedly treated at a rape crisis center the same day, according to the outlets.
A second woman alleged that she was assaulted while she was 16 and Brand was 31. They were in an “emotionally abusive and controlling relationship that lasted for about three months, and that Brand once ‘forced his penis down her throat,’ making her choke,” the report reads.
A third woman claims she was sexually assaulted while working with Brand, and that he threatened to take legal action if she reported it. A fourth said she was sexually assaulted and that the star was emotionally abusive toward her.
The journalists behind the report wrote that they spent years interviewing hundreds of sources, including Brand’s colleagues and ex-girlfriends, and reviewing private emails and text messages. The investigation “(shines) a light on Brand’s mistreatment of women behind closed doors, and on the industries that enabled him,” the report reads.
What has Russell Brand said?
Brand released a video titled “So, This Is Happening” shortly before the release of the report, refuting the allegations made against him.
“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,” he said. “There are witnesses, there’s evidence that directly contradicts the narratives that these two mainstream media outlets are trying to construct apparently, in what seems to me to be, a coordinated attack.”
Brand, who has written about his drug and sex addictions, has in recent years pivoted away from Hollywood, and has instead built a towering online presence in the mold of Joe Rogan. He now has a very popular YouTube channel and podcast where he’s interviewed several prominent conservatives, like Tucker Carlson and Ben Shapiro, and discusses wellness trends and conspiracy theories. In the video, he suggests that because of his fringe views the investigation is part of a “concerted agenda to control these kind of spaces and these kind of voices.”
Katy Perry’s comments about Brand resurface
An interview Katy Perry gave in 2013 has started to recirculate in the wake of the Brand investigation. The pop star married the comedian in 2010, but they divorced after a little over a year. She discussed her tumultuous marriage with Vogue, telling the magazine that Brand was “controlling” and that their time together was “really hurtful.”
“I felt a lot of responsibility for it ending, but then I found out the real truth, which I can’t necessarily disclose because I keep it locked in my safe for a rainy day,” she said at the time. “I let go and was like, ‘This isn’t because of me; this is beyond me.'”
Perry hasn’t spoken out about her ex since the investigation broke, but there’s some speculation the “real truth” she alludes to is Brand’s alleged sexual misconduct.
