Sexual predator. Groomer of teenagers. Rapist. Abuser. The extensive allegations against former British comedian Russell Brand are now the subject of multiple inquiries, including at least one police investigation relating to alleged sexual assault in the early 2000s.
As seems to be the pattern with previous cases of serious allegations made against high-profile men, we’re told that Brand’s predation — his misogyny has long been called out, to the extent that he felt the need to apologise for it and claim he’d been converted to feminism — was an “open secret” within the British comedy industry, complete with a WhatsApp group for women to warn others about him, and complaints that he used lawyers to shut down previous allegations.
Brand is being defended by various far-right figures. Accused rapist Andrew Tate. Tucker Carlson. Elon Musk. Alex Jones. And they have a conspiracy theory to go with their defence: Brand is a truth-teller who is worrying the powerful, so the powers that be are working to destroy him. In the words of Jones, Brand is being attacked because he’s fighting “globalists”.
A decade ago such figures, or their equivalents, would have gleefully seized on the allegations. Back then, Brand was an enemy of the right and the darling of the left, having morphed from a controversial comic and blink-and-you’ll-miss-it husband of Katy Perry to addiction authority, ardent supporter of the Occupy Movement and advocate for a socialist society, complete with a book titled Revolution.
“He has the intellectual capacity of a student who comes home from college at Christmas and thinks he’s smarter than his dad. He hasn’t bathed for 10 years. His lice have scabies,” was how one Fox News presenter was reported to have described him.
Since then, Brand has shifted to the right and doubled down on the wellness schtick. In an elegant demonstration of horseshoe politics, he became an anti-vaxxer, peddled COVID misinformation and conspiracy theories about the favourite targets of the far right — Bill Gates, the World Economic Forum, “globalists”, Nancy Pelosi, the World Health Organization. Inevitably he’s a Trump supporter. That’s why he’s now a favourite of the very people who would have used allegations against him as evidence of the moral turpitude of the left a decade ago.
As his earnest advocacy for “an egalitarian socialist society” a decade ago, and his current enthusiasm for conspiracy theories, suggest, Brand is no deep thinker, but is as adept at switching ideologies as he is at switching media: his business model is YouTube and podcasts — among the vast far-right online ecosystem awash with content, Brand’s name and face recognition stand out enough to earn him a good income from YouTube ads.
What has unified his career, though, the one thing he has been selling the whole time, is an image of transgressiveness — of unfiltered sexual desire (complete with “I’m Russell, I’m a sex addict” schtick), of comedy unrestrained by taste or decency, of advocacy for revolution and socialism, and now of a fighter of globalist conspiracies, a willingness to challenge the hidden cabal that, in the eyes of the right, really controls the media, politics and the economy.
Behind the transgression, however, there has never been any substance, just glib ideas cut and pasted from elsewhere, a sales pitch for a product that was never really there. If the allegations against him are proved, it will suggest that the only true substance to his transgressiveness was a willingness to abuse women as he roamed the ideological spectrum looking for where the most money was to be found.
Brand was around the UK left for a few years, and was helpful in getting media attention for a range of housing and other battles in London and other major cities. His involvement was always hotly debated with a lot of left saying they should have nothing to do with him. ‘Darling of the left’ is nonsense.
I used to look at his vids from time to time up until a few years ago; he seemed genuine enough to me, but I didn’t know much about him…
Pretty shocked to see all this (not so much the bad behaviour, unfortunately, but the political turnaround) in light of the stuff he used to bang on about; what a twat. Always rather baffling when someone who knows how to make the right noises turns out not to believe a word of it.
He made that journey others have made, as centrist entertainer who gained traction and was very influential on social media, then adopted by US ‘intellectual dark web’ for his personal and social media influence, for the right.
I didn’t watch him for centrism, mate. He did a pretty good impersonation of a leftie for a while.
It’s one thing for someone who believes more or less the same stuff I do to turn out to have problems regulating their own behaviour.
It’s quite another when it turns out they believe nothing at all. I hate people like that, way more than people who can’t control themselves.
Yep. Makes you wonder how many more of them are out there, weighing us up as marketing opportunities they can sell themselves to, learning the pitch, then rebranding and moving on to a different market entirely. Leaves a bad taste in the mouth and an extra layer of cynicism, doesn’t it?
Sometimes makes me wonder how many of them out there flogging ideologies of any and all kinds believe any of it, Kimmo. Too many of them start as one thing , but wind up as the opposite.
People do change, especially as they get older and acquire a few resources to fear losing.
Sure, but do they usually embrace entirely different ideologies for direct financial gain and publicly market said ideologies accordingly? Not so much.
Like others he was then nudged (or he ran) to the far right helped by ‘wellness’ guff, with a whole conga line of high profile writers etc. in the US who’ve done similar, and probably need the money (see pro-Russian tanky grifters); not sure what his excuse was embracing right wing talking points and conspiracies?
He made that journey others have made, as centrist entertainer who gained traction and was very influential on social media, then adopted by US ‘intellectual dark web’ for his personal and social media influence.
Like others he was then nudged (or he ran) to the far right helped by ‘wellness’ guff, with a whole conga line of high profile writers etc. in the US who’ve done similar, and probably need the money (see pro-Russian tanky grifters); not sure what his excuse was.
Given what we’ve already seen here on Crikey about how easy it is to be manipulated by the media, I’d be a bit slower to pile on someone.
Sorry Guy, I meant to put this on another comment.
Are you sure he was a “darling of the left”? I have no recollection of him being anything other than a self-promoting nob. I don’t recall him being adored by feminists, however much he may have wished to spruce his own image.
Keane quoting some clown from Fox? I think that’s me done for the day – irony has it’s limits…
He sounds like a total arsehole. Just what the world needs.
Whaa…, just because he has a history of anorexia, bulimia, self cutting, depression while claiming to be an ‘ex’ junkie?
Or because as a comic he was as funny as a dead rat sandwich?
Probably more because he’s an accused rapist who appears to have won the love of the likes of Musk, Tate, Carlson and Jones. I don’t care what he chooses to do to himself. His treatment of women is what makes him an arsehole.
As ’tis said in the Princess Bride (apparently, having never knowingly encountered it) “This word you use, I do not think it means what you think…” which is more than sufficient for your ilk to have destroyed an A/G, several staffers & assorted SPADS and a bevy of meeja types – later very expensively compensated.
That word is “accused”- it is entirely the province of the accuser to prove, or have proved, the accusation.
The sole onus
But there is absolutely no doubt how he treats women. That is a matter of public record, and even Brand has admitted to misogyny.
Is that now crime?
Think of the jobs!
Pretty sure the comment you were objecting to said he was an arsehole, not a criminal.
yes and look at all the same people throwin shade yet look at the ubiquity of vile internet exploitation of women -hypocrisy
Food for thought ; check out the lacklustre representation of seasoned females in the news teams ; you know with careers that continue …. what ? Where do women go ? Silenced gaslit or rich boomers not relevant even though we contributed years of complimentary dometic work and child rearing ?! Mmm ? Crikey, Michael West Media ( love the journos but ….) compare the ages , seniority , physicality of the senior editorals etc… Talk is cheap
is that economic social abuse or a way to deny agency ? The issue is agency
I am not particularly familiar with Brand outside of his guest appearances on UK comedy shows and stuff that The Algorithms have fed me on Twitter and Youtube over the years.
But based on that, I have to say that credible accusations of him being an abusive sexual predator are one of the least surprising things I’ve heard this year.
wow hope you aint ever on a murder jury
Me either.
But at least I know I’ll be able to tell the difference between accusations and evidence.
lay down misere to you
Crikey take-home lesson: Don’t swap one-liners with the Doc. Still chuckling.
Bang on right Dr