Russell Brand used to be a sort of famous comedian and actor, 10-15 years ago or so. He was married to Katy Perry and he talked about his sobriety and he was briefly ubiquitous. Then Brand got left behind and he did what many has-beens do: he turned to right-wing politics and wellness culture and became some kind of self-styled political pundit and influencer. Throughout his famous years and his has-been years, there were always rumors about Brand and his behavior with women. Quelle surprise, it turns out that Russell Brand is a serial predator. The Times of London did a big investigation and they dropped their exclusive this weekend – you can read the full archived version of the article here.

The comedian and actor Russell Brand has been accused of rape, sexual assaults and emotional abuse during a seven-year period at the height of his fame. Four women have alleged sexual assaults between 2006 and 2013, while he was a presenter for BBC Radio 2 and Channel 4 and then an actor in Hollywood films. Others have made a range of accusations about Brand’s controlling, abusive and predatory behaviour. Brand denied the allegations and said his relationships have all been consensual. The findings come from a joint investigation by The Sunday Times, The Times and Channel 4 Dispatches.

One woman alleges that Brand raped her against a wall in his Los Angeles home. She was treated at a rape crisis centre on the same day, according to medical records. Text messages show that in the hours after leaving his house, she told Brand that she had been scared by him and felt taken advantage of, adding: “When a girl say[s] NO it means no.” Brand replied saying he was “very sorry”.

A second woman alleges that Brand assaulted her when he was 31 and she was 16 and still at school. She said he referred to her as “the child” during an emotionally abusive and controlling relationship that lasted for about three months…

A third woman claims that he sexually assaulted her while she worked with him in Los Angeles, and that he threatened to take legal action if she told anyone else about her allegation. The fourth described being sexually assaulted by Brand and him being physically and emotionally abusive towards her.

All said they felt ready to speak only after being approached by reporters. Several said they felt compelled to do so given Brand’s newfound prominence as an online wellness influencer, with millions of followers on YouTube and other sites. The others have accused him of physical and emotional abuse, sexual harassment and bullying.

[From The Times]

I believe all of them, especially the story about the 16-year-old. He’s left enough breadcrumbs over the course of his career to lead me to believe that he’s guilty of statutory rape in several countries. Speaking of, I’ve always believed his interest in Asia and Asian culture is mostly about “sex tourism.” Anyway, I hope some of Brand’s victims press charges. Even if they don’t, Brand needs to be shoved out of society entirely. I’ve already seen that Andrew Tate is defending him, which is all you need to know.

Someone gave Brand a heads up about the Times’ exclusive before it came out, which is why Brand tried to get out ahead of the story on Friday, and he released this bonkers video of his pre-denial. Why does the video jump when he claims all of his relationships were consensual?

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.