Russell Brand Accused of Rape, Sexual Assault

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Facts

  • Actor, comedian, and media personality Russell Brand has been accused of rape, sexual assault, and emotional abuse, according to a joint investigation published by The Sunday Times, The Times, and Channel 4's Dispatches.1
  • Five women appeared in a recent Dispatches documentary discussing their claims against Brand — four of them remained anonymous. Their allegations date between 2006 and 2013.1
  • However, Brand has denied the allegations, stating: 'Amidst this litany of astonishing, rather baroque attacks are some very serious allegations that I absolutely refute.'2
  • Brand also argued that, while the allegations pertain to a period when 'he was very, very promiscuous,' the relationships he had were 'absolutely, always consensual.'2
  • Following initial revelations, London's Metropolitan Police Force on Monday confirmed it had received a formal allegation of sexual assault against Brand dating back to 2003. Meanwhile, the comedian's remaining tour dates for this month have been cancelled amid increased media pressure.3
  • Youtube on Tuesday also announced it was 'demonetizing' Brand's channel, stopping it from benefiting financially from advertising or merchandise — the comedian has 6.6M subscribers on the platform. On the same day, the BBC removed content featuring Brand from its iPlayer streaming site.4

Sources: 1Guardian, 2BBC News, 3Sky news and 4The telegraph.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by Unherd. Brand was jettisoned to fame in an era of viciousness, when misogyny was celebrated and grotesque invasions of privacy were the norm; the comedian's risqué antics and disrespect for all boundaries put him at the pinnacle of popular culture. However, its clear now that the caricatured vision he presented to the world hid his attitudes towards women in plain sight. The willingness to turn a blind eye in the noughties to normalized, hypersexual behaviors enabled his behavior.
  • Narrative B, as provided by Guardian. Brand's willingness to transgress in plain sight my have operated as a kind of shield, but his obviously inappropriate conduct — from the content of his comedy to the treatment of his colleagues — was deliberately ignored by establishments old and new. His behavior wasn't just 'of its time,' it was endorsed by politicians, the editors of Newsnight and Question Time, and even the Telegraph and the Guardian. Those individuals and organizations directly involved in giving him a platform should be held to account for facilitating his rise to prominence.
  • Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by offGuardian. Public and media reaction to the thin evidence so far presented against Brand reflects a concerning and continuing push towards 'moral' censorship and deplatforming. That someone as prominent as the comedian can have his career effectively destroyed Prima Facie at this contrived scandal will only act to frighten other potential dissenting voices. Responses to Brand reveal the Orwellian erosion of presumed innocence in modern society.