Russell Brand has been investigated by the BBC for alleged inappropriate conduct and grooming.
Between 2006 and 2008, the comedian aged 48 presented radio programs for national broadcaster.
4
4
Reports from The Times Brand, who appeared in the documentary Dispatches, was accused by four women of sexual abuse, rape and assault, one being a 16-year-old girl.
This relationship is said to have occurred in 2006 while he presented a program on Radio 6 Music.
Brand, a man known only as Brand, allegedly forced the girl to have oral sex with him until she choked, saying that he wanted to see her “mascara run”.
She claimed he also forced her to finish reading Lolita, in which the protagonist kidnaps and sexually assaults a 12 year-old girl.
Three more women have also come forward to make allegations. One woman claimed Brand had raped and sexted her in front of a wall inside his LA apartment.
During the peak of the film star’s fame, between 2006-2013, the attacks are said to have taken place.
Unidentified spokesperson said, “The documentary as well as the reports that accompanied it contained serious allegations spanning over a period of several years.”
We are looking urgently into Russell Brand’s work on BBC Radio programmes from 2006 to 2008.
This comes shortly after Banijay UK launched an investigation after allegations similar to those made against Brand during his tenure at Channel 4 surfaced.
A company statement read: “In light of the very serious allegations…relating to the alleged serious misconduct of Russell Brand produced by Endomol between 2004 and 2005 Banijay UK has launched an urgent internal investigation.
Please contact us if you feel that Brand’s actions affected your experience while working on this production.
The company said that it would “cooperate with” any information requests from its broadcasting partners or “external agents”.
A spokesperson for Channel 4 said the organization was “appalled by” the accusations.
We are committed to understanding the true nature of everything that happened. Our extensive searches of documents have revealed no proof that the allegations were ever brought to Channel 4’s attention.
“We’ll continue to examine this matter in the light of all new information that we obtain, and also in relation to any personal accounts provided by those who are affected.”
We asked that the company responsible for producing the Channel 4 programmes investigate and provide us with a thorough and satisfactory report of their findings.
Channel 4 has also conducted its own investigation and encourages anyone with information about such behavior to contact them directly.
The channel has undergone “extensive changes” since the alleged offenses.
Russell Brand video transcription in full
You awakening wonders, hello!
This is not the typical type of video that we produce on our channel, where we criticize, attack and undercut the news with all its corruption. In this story, I am the media.
Two extremely distressing letters have been sent to me – a letter as well as an email.
A mainstream TV network, a newspaper and some other people have sent me a list of vile, aggressive, and stupid attacks. For example, my local festival is to be shut down, I should not be allowed to challenge mainstream media narratives in this channel.
These serious claims are buried in this baroque litany. I deny them. The allegations are from the days when I worked in mainstream media – I used to be in newspapers and movies all the time. I also wrote extensively about my own promiscuity in books.
The relationships that I maintained during this period were all consensual. Then, I was almost transparent in my disclosures. I will be transparent in the future as well.
When I see transparency morph into something that is criminal, which i deny completely, it makes me ask if another agenda is at work.
This is particularly true when media have coordinated their attacks in the past. For example, when Joe Rogan dared take a drug that mainstream media did not approve of. The same headlines were used by media around the globe.
I’m aware that you guys have been saying in the comments for a while ‘Watch out Russell, they are coming for you, you are getting too close to the truth, Russell Brand did not kill himself’.
I know that a year ago there was a spate of articles ‘Russell Brand is a conspiracy theorist, Russell Brand’s right wing’.
I’m aware of news media making phone calls, sending letters to people I know for ages and ages.
It’s been clear to me or at least it feels to me like there’s a serious and concerted agenda to control these kind of spaces and these kind of voices and I mean my voice along with your voice.
They can use my books or my speeches to discuss my past promiscuous, consensual behavior. The very serious criminal charges are something I strongly deny.
Also it’s worth mentioning that there are witnesses whose evidence 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
But I do not want to go into any more detail because this is a serious matter. I just feel attacked, and it’s obvious that they’re working closely together.
We are obviously going to look into this matter because it’s very, very serious. While I wait, you should stay alert and close. But more importantly than all of this, if possible, you must remain free.
Former employees have spoken of feeling like they are “pimping” Brand by selecting women from the audience who catch his eye.
Some people compared the experience to “leading lambs to slaughter.”
One former running runner for a TV show claimed Brand had raped her in the dressing room. She also said that it was “openly known” by television executives.
Rachel said that production companies allowed him the opportunity to thrive in an environment where he could take full advantage of himself.
A spokesperson for Banijay UK said: “In light of the very serious allegations…relating to the alleged serious misconduct of Russell Brand produced by Endomol between 2004 and 2005 Banijay UK has launched an urgent internal investigation.
Please contact us if you feel that Brand’s actions affected your experience while working on this production.
They also said they will “cooperate”, if any request for information comes from “external” agencies or their broadcasting partners.
The Metropolitan Police responded to The Times article.
Un spokesperson from the police said that: “We’re aware of reports in media about a number of allegations of sexual abuse. We haven’t received any information about this at this point.
We encourage anyone who believes that they are the victim of sexual abuse to call police, regardless of how long it has been since.
The police added that they had contacted the media to inform them of the proper way to contact the police about the claims made by the journalists.
Brand, for his part, posted a video on YouTube before the accusations were made public, calling them “untrue”.
The man claimed the allegations were part of “a coordinated media attack” on him. He also stated that all their relationships had been “consensual”.
4
4