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“British comedian and actor Russell Brand has denied any criminal wrongdoing as the Sunday Times newspaper reported four women had accused him of sexual assaults, including rape, during a seven-year period when he was at the height of his fame… The Times, which reported the alleged incidents had taken place between 2006 and 2013, said one woman had made an allegation of rape, while another said Brand assaulted her when she was 16 and still at school. Two of the accusers reported the incidents occurred in Los Angeles.” Reuters
“YouTube said on Tuesday it had blocked Russell Brand from making money from his online channel after the British actor and comedian was accused of a string of sexual assaults.” Reuters
The right argues that the allegations are concerning, but should not be tried in the court of public opinion.
“Every time some celebrity is accused of serious wrongdoing, particularly involving sexual harassment or assault, we hear from other figures in the industry who say things like ‘everybody knew’ or ‘this was an open secret.’ And now we’re getting those claims about Brand… And yes, you can be forgiven for noticing these allegations — dating back to the George W. Bush and Obama administration years — are only getting the big-time mainstream-media coverage now, after Brand has experienced an ideological transformation…
“We’re left with circumstances in which allegedly ‘everyone knew’ about Brand’s sexual predation upon young women, but no one felt the need to take any action, or reveal it to the public, back when Brand was a leftist celebrity. But now that his views and reputation have changed, several of the United Kingdom’s biggest media institutions have conducted in-depth investigations into allegations going back roughly a decade and laid out a disturbing portrait of him. If you wanted to fan the flames of conspiracy theories among Russell Brand’s fanbase, you wouldn’t change much.”
Jim Geraghty, National Review
“Russell Brand has been rather open about the fact that he led a ‘wild’ lifestyle back in his (excessive) drinking and drugging days… When you consider the number of women making similar claims about him, the allegations seem to be potentially more credible than, for example, the woman who said similar things about Brett Kavanaugh…
“Brand has been suggesting that these claims are coming out now because people are trying to ‘silence him’ for his radical views. But the people speaking out against him don’t seem particularly political and most come from his own industry… I really don’t want to believe this is true, but this story is growing to be a bit much to ignore. Many of us have long since been disabused of the mantra saying we should ‘believe all women.’ But you clearly have to believe at least some women.”
Jazz Shaw, Hot Air
“Is Brand guilty of at least some of these accusations? Probably. But I don’t know that, and YouTube certainly doesn’t know it. Neither does Brand’s agency, or publisher. This just goes to show that all it takes is politically useful allegations against a politically vulnerable person to get that person instantly un-personed. Is this the world we want?… I find Russell Brand to be a highly unsympathetic figure, even if he is not guilty of breaking the law. But even an unsympathetic figure has the right to a livelihood, at least in any kind of society I want to live in.”
Rod Dreher, Substack
The left is disturbed by the allegations, and laments that they were not shared earlier.
The left is disturbed by the allegations, and laments that they were not shared earlier.
“Reading the accounts of the four women who went on record with allegations against Brand – although journalists say they interviewed and spoke to many many more – is utterly grim. Their accounts [of] what Brand allegedly did to them, and their fear of coming forward until now feels like a sucker punch to the gut. Because while there is a gap between being a debauched figure of tabloid fun and being a man who has been accused of rape, sexual assault, grooming, and abuse, in Brand’s case, he paraded the warning signs to us for years.”
Nosheen Iqbal, Elle
“The British aughts were an odd time to be a young woman. There were topless teenagers in tabloid newspapers. One of these newspapers, the Sun, awarded an accolade called ‘Shagger of the Year,’ which Brand himself won three consecutive times. A radio DJ called Chris Moyles offered live on air to sleep with the Welsh singer Charlotte Church once she had turned 16. Paparazzi photographers lay in the street outside Emma Watson’s 18th birthday party to get pictures up her skirt…
“The Dispatches documentary includes audio from Brand’s BBC radio show in 2007, during which he offers up his ‘very attractive’ female assistant, naked, saying that she has to ‘greet, meet,’ and ‘massage’ anyone he demands. (The man he’s offering her to is Jimmy Savile, another BBC personality, who was revealed a few years later to have been a prolific sexual offender.)… The sexual assault allegations are sadly not a surprise—especially to Brits.”
Imogen West-Knights, Slate
“Unless a woman fits the profile of the perfect rape victim — sober when it happened, conservatively dressed and assaulted by a stranger; ideally a masked marauder, who used additional violence, and isn’t going to stand in the dock looking handsome and plausible; and preferably with some witnesses or CCTV footage to back up her account — then reporting it is likely to lead to a situation that only compounds her feelings of helplessness and despair…
“If a woman reports she’s been raped to the police, then the likelihood of the perpetrator being charged, prosecuted and found guilty of that crime is just one per cent. That’s right; an astonishing 99 per cent of reported rapes do not result in a conviction… Social media is awash right now with people spouting righteous indignation as they insist the horrific allegations coming out about Russell Brand constitute trial by media… I wish they would stop for one second and consider why [these women] went to the Press instead of the police in the first place.”
Julie Bindel, Daily Mail
A libertarian's take
“As a private company, YouTube has the right, of course, to platform and deplatform anyone it wishes. It is not obligated to obey the First Amendment, extend due process to content creators, or enforce internally consistent rules. The company is free to do whatever it wants—and users are free to complain. And this seems like something worth complaining about…
“Brand has not been convicted of any crime. His accusers remain anonymous. Will any prominent figure accused of sexual misconduct anonymously face similar sanction, prior to any criminal action taking place? Due process, the presumption of innocence, the burden of the proof—these things are not legally required in a situation like this, but wholly jettisoning them is morally, practically, and philosophically unsound.”
Robby Soave, Reason
