Russell Brand, the once-edgy comedian and self-styled provocateur, now finds himself at the center of a legal storm in the U.K., facing charges of rape and sexual assault. The accusations? They date back to a period spanning 1999 to 2005, over two decades ago.
London officials have charged Brand with assaults on four women, according to Variety. Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Police have been busy interviewing him since The Sunday Times dropped its bombshell exposé on the allegations. Brand, for his part, has categorically denied all claims.
“The women who have made reports continue to receive support from specially trained officers,” said Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy of the Met Police. He also urged anyone with information to come forward, “The Met’s investigation remains open and detectives ask anyone who has been affected by this case, or anyone who has any information, to come forward and speak with police.” Maybe 20-plus years wasn’t enough time for that to already happen. Brand is scheduled to appear in Westminster Magistrates’ Court on May 2. Until then, the Thames Valley Police have decided to join the investigative bandwagon as well.
The fallout has been swift and predictably brutal. Brand’s comedy tour? Postponed. His publishing deal with Pan Macmillan’s Bluebird imprint? Gone. The BBC? Well, they’ve scrubbed his shows from their digital archives faster than you can say “cancel culture.” Oh, and they’re also conducting their own investigation into complaints against him during his tenure at the broadcaster. In a move that screams “better late than never,” the state-owned network issued an apology for not dealing with those complaints “effectively” back in the day.
So here we are. A comedian who built his career on controversy and shock value is now being shocked by controversy of a very different kind. Whether these charges hold water or not remains to be seen, but one thing’s for sure: Russell Brand’s days of dominating headlines for his outrageous antics are far from over—though perhaps not in the way he’d hoped.
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Karina Smitt
I'm not as much of a "CoMiCs NeEd MoAr DiVeRsItY & iNcLuSiOn" advocate as my girlfriend often is, but we both love funny books, crispy bacon, straight bourbon and hip hop. Add yet, we never vote the same, so we cancel each other out... and that works perfectly in my book!
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