Russell Brand has broken his silence claiming he has faced an ‘extraordinary and distressing week’ after being accused of rape, sexual assault and emotional abuse.
Speaking in a short three minute video the under fire comedian thanked his followers for their ‘support and for questioning the information that you have been presented with’.
He went on to announce he would be returning his show on Rumble – an online video platform where subscribers pay a minimum $60 (£48) fee to watch – after adverts on his YouTube channel were suspended in light of the allegations.
Throughout his rambling speech he accused the British government of demanding that big technology platforms censor his online content and took a swipe at his former employer the BBC for its ‘trust news initiative’ that tackles fake news.
Over the last week, several women have come forward to make allegations against the comedian, 48, which they claim happened at the height of his fame.
The shocking allegations, said to have occurred between 2003 and 2013, include the alleged rape of a woman at his home in Los Angeles and the alleged sexual assault of a 16-year-old schoolgirl.
Brand denied the accusations claiming all of his relationships had been consensual.
Until now, he had remained silent on the allegations of predatory and abusive behaviour first made by The Sunday Times and Channel 4‘s Dispatches last Saturday.
In a short video, posted tonight to Instagram, X, formally known as Twitter and YouTube he said: ‘Hello there you awakening wonders, obviously it’s been an extraordinary and distressing week and I thank you very much for your support and for questioning the information that you have been presented with.
‘By now, you’re probably aware that the British government has asked big tech platforms to censor our online content and that some online platforms have complied with that request.
‘What you may not know is that this happens in the context of the online safety bill which is a piece of UK legislation that grants sweeping surveillance and censorship powers and it’s a law that’s already been passed.’
He added: ‘I also don’t imagine that you’ve heard of the trusted news initiative and now, as often is the case when a word like trusted is used as part of an acronym to describe an unelected body, trust is the last thing you should be offering.
‘The trusted news initiative is a collaboration between big tech and legacy media organisations to target, patrol, choke and shut down independent media organisations, like this one.’
Brand’s new video came just hours after a woman claimed the comic left her feeling ‘vulnerable and intimidated’, allegedly refusing to call a taxi for her to leave until she performed a sex act.
Sarah, whose name has been changed to protect her identity, told Sky News that when she first met Brand on a flight he appeared ‘friendly and charming’ so she accepted his invitation to grab breakfast and go on a walk.
But when they got in the car the woman claimed Brand’s behaviour changed. She said: ‘He wasn’t friendly and charming in the limo. He was aggressive and I felt very vulnerable and intimated.’
As they were travelling Sarah alleged Brand jumped and ‘ripped’ holes in the tights she was wearing. She had initially said ‘no’ to his advances, causing the limo driver to turn around.
She told the broadcaster: ‘The limo driver was turning around a few times because I was saying no, but he ripped a hole – more than one hole – in the tights that I was wearing.’
They were driven to Brand’s house where they had consensual sex.
She added: ‘I mean, it was consensual. I didn’t say no but I feel like there’s a fine line between being forced and being coerced, you know, like being in a situation where the only way out is just to get it over and done with and leave.’
Sarah went on to claim that Brand then refused to order her a taxi until she performed oral sex on him.
‘I wanted to leave and I said, “I need to get a taxi”. And he said, ‘I’m not going to get you a taxi until you do this’, which was a sex act’, Sarah alleged to Sky.
Until now Brand hadn’t spoken since last Friday night when he took to his YouTube channel to ‘absolutely deny’ what he called ‘serious allegations’ ahead of a mystery TV investigation.
The comedian, actor and internet personality told his viewers that there are ‘serious allegations’ made against him which he ‘absolutely refutes’.
Since the allegations were made, more women have come forward with accusations while the Metropolitan Police have launched an investigation into an alleged sexual assault in Soho in 2003.
The scandal has seen Brand’s PR firm MBC PR and talent agency Tavistock Wood remove him from their websites, while his publisher Bluebird suspended their relationship with the comic.
Channel 4 went on to remove all of its programmes linked to Brand on its website, including episodes of The Great British Bake Off and Big Brother’s Big Mouth in which he was featured.
And Netflix has now been urged to remove his comedy special, Re:Birth, from its catalogue.
‘Hello there you awakening wonders, obviously it’s been an extraordinary and distressing week and I thank you very much for your support and for questioning the information that you have been presented with.
‘By now, you’re probably aware that the British government has asked big tech platforms to censor our online content and that some online platforms have complied with that request.
‘What you may not know is that this happens in the context of the online safety bill which is a piece of UK legislation that grants sweeping surveillance and censorship powers and it’s a law that’s already been passed.
‘I also don’t imagine that you’ve heard of the trusted news initiative and now, as often is the case when a word like trusted is used as part of an acronym to describe an unelected body, trust is the last thing you should be offering.
‘The trusted news initiative is a collaboration between big tech and legacy media organisations to target, patrol, choke and shut down independent media organisations, like this one.
‘We’ll be talking about that on our show on Monday on Rumble but just to give you an idea on what the TNI is, this is a quote from one of their spokespeople:
“‘Because actually the real rivalry now is not between for example the BBC and CNN globally, it’s actually between all trusted news providers and… digital platforms.”‘