British comedian and actor Russell Brand released a video on Friday in which he denies accusations made against him by four women.
Brand, who was accused of multiple cases of sexual assaults between 2006-2013, said that he denies the accusations in what he describes as a “coordinated attack by mainstream media.”
One of the alleged victims of Brand was only 16 years old at the time of the abuse, the Sunday Times reported. Brand had allegedly met the victim while she was out shopping in central London.
Another woman accusing Brand had been treated at a rape crisis center on the same day that she had texted Brand When a girl say[s] NO it means no,” Sky News reported.
A third woman claimed Brand, whom she’d met at Alcoholics Anonymous, assaulted her at his home in West Hollywood.
The fourth victim claimed that she had been both physically and emotionally abused by him.
This is not the first time that such accusations against Brand have circulated, as Brand was accused of biting and grabbing a female comedian during a gig in the 2000s, Sky News reported. The news outlet also reported that female comedians had warned one another about Brand for years prior to the accusations.
“I know for many, many years that women have been warning each other about Russell,” a male comedian told the Sunday Times.
In connection with the publication, the Independent has released a video in which Brand has seemingly acted inappropriately with female professionals.
Professional response to the accusations
In response to the joint investigation, a BBC spokesperson said: “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.
“The circumstances of the breach were reviewed in detail at the time. We hope that demonstrates that the BBC takes issues seriously and is prepared to act.
“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 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.”
Brand’s reaction to the accusation
Brand used his social media platforms to issue a response, in which he claimed that he was being attacked by the mainstream media.
“Now, this isn’t the usual type of video we make on this channel where we critique, attack and undermine the news in all its corruption because in this story, I am the news,” Brand said. “I’ve received two extremely disturbing letters or a letter and an email. One from a mainstream media TV company, one from a newspaper listing a litany of extremely egregious and aggressive attacks, as well as some pretty stupid stuff like my community festival should be stopped, that I shouldn’t be able to attack mainstream media narratives on this channel.
“But amidst this litany of astonishing rather baroque attacks, are some very serious allegations that I absolutely refute.
“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.
“Now, during that time of promiscuity, the relationships I had were absolutely always consensual. I was always transparent about that then, almost too transparent, and I’m being transparent about it now as well.
“And to see that transparency metastasized into something criminal that I absolutely deny makes me question, is there another agenda at play?”
He continued: “I’m aware that you guys have been saying in the comments for a while [saying] ‘watch out, Russell. They’re coming for you, you’re 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’s 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 being clear to me, or at least it feels to me like there’s a serious and concerted agenda to control these kinds of spaces and these kinds of voices. And I mean, my voice along with your voice.
“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.
