Russell Brand is accused of rape and sexual assault by five women
British comedian and actor Russell Brand denies sexual assault allegations against him made public as part of a joint investigation from the Times of London, the Sunday Times and Channel 4 Dispatches.
Five women have come forward claiming Brand raped, sexually assaulted or abused them. Her allegations are featured in a Channel 4, The Times and The Sunday Times special entitled Russell Brand: In Plain Sight.
According to The Times, one of the women claims she had a three-month relationship with Brand when she was 16. Despite this being the age of consent in the UK, she claims Brand groomed and raped her.
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“Looking back, Russell acted like a dog groomer, but I didn’t even know what that was or what that looked like at the time,” said the woman, whose identity has not been released The times.
Brand denied the allegations in a video shared on his social media, saying his relationships were all consensual. He said he had received “extremely disturbing” communications from a mainstream television station and newspaper detailing “a litany of extremely egregious and aggressive attacks.”
“But amidst this litany of astonishing, rather baroque attacks, there are some very serious allegations that I absolutely refute,” Brand said.
A lawyer for Brand declined to comment on the allegations.
The comedian went on to say that the allegations stemmed from a time at the height of his mainstream fame, when he was apparently “very, very promiscuous,” adding that any relationships he had at the time were “absolutely always consensual.” ” were.
“And to see that transparency morph into something criminal that I absolutely deny makes me wonder, ‘Is there another agenda at play?'”
NBC has not independently confirmed any of the allegations against Brand.
Brand expressed what he believes is his expansion into the anti-mainstream space in recent years, including the growth of his podcast “Stay Free with Russell Brand,” in which he explores “the hidden truth behind our constructed reality.” The reason for this could be allegations that have surfaced recently.
“It was clear to me, or at least it seems to me, that there was a serious and concerted agenda to control these types of spaces and these types of voices, and I mean my voice along with your voice,” he told his audience .
The comedian also accused The Times, The Sunday Times and Channel 4 of working closely together to engineer a “coordinated attack” against him. He also mentioned that there are witnesses “whose statements directly contradict the narratives that these two mainstream media outlets are trying to construct.” Brand does not elaborate or identify who these witnesses are in his video.
The Sunday Times asked Brand’s lawyer about the evidence he was referring to but received no response.
“We will of course investigate this matter because it is very, very serious,” Brand said. “In the meantime, I want you to stay close to me, stay awake, but more importantly, if you can, please stay free.”
According to his lawyer, Brand currently resides in the United Kingdom.
NBC News reached out to The Times. The publication did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
If you or someone you know is affected by sexual assault, domestic or family violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au.
