Russell Brand is vehemently denying what he’s describing as “very, very serious criminal allegations” against him — that haven’t yet been made public.
On Friday, the British comedian posted a video on his YouTube channel to issue a pre-emptive denial of accusations against him that he says will be surfacing soon.
“What I seriously refute are these very, very, serious criminal allegations.”
“I’ve received two extremely disturbing letters — or a letter and an email — one from a mainstream media TV company, one from a newspaper, listing a litany of extremely egregious and aggressive attacks, as well as some pretty stupid stuff, like my community festival should be stopped, that I shouldn’t be able to attack mainstream media narratives on this channel,” he said.
“But amidst this litany of astonishing, rather baroque attacks, are some very serious allegations that I absolutely refute,” Brand continued.
“These allegations pertain to the time when I was working in the mainstream, when I was in the newspapers all the time, when I was in the movies,” he explained.
“As I’ve written about extensively in my books, I was very, very promiscuous. Now, during that time of promiscuity, the relationships I had were absolutely always consensual,” he added, offering insight into the likely nature of those accusations.
“I was always transparent about that then — almost too transparent. And I’m being transparent about it now as well. And to see that transparency metastasized into something criminal, that I absolutely deny, makes me question: is there another agenda at play?” he asked.
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In fact, Brand said he believed these allegations surfacing now are part of a “coordinated” attack at him, in retaliation for sharing fringe views of on such hot-button topics as the 9/11 terror attacks, the COVID-19 vaccine, and how the CIA and FBI chooses America’s presidents, which have led him to be criticized for using his platform to spread misinformation and conspiracy theories.
“I’m aware of news media making phone calls, sending letters to people I know, for ages and ages,” he said.
“It’s been clear to me, or at least it feels to me, like there’s a serious and concerted agenda to control these kinds of spaces and these kinds of voices — and I mean my voice along with your voice,” Brand suggested.
“I don’t mind them using my books and my standup to talk about my promiscuous, consensual conduct in the past. What I seriously refute are these very, very, serious criminal allegations,” he stated.
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“Also, it’s worth mentioning that there are witnesses whose evidence directly contradicts the narratives that these two mainstream media outlets are trying to construct, apparently, in what seems to me to be a coordinated attack,” Brand added.
“Now, I don’t want to get into this any further because of the serious nature of the allegations, but I feel like I’m being attacked and plainly they are working very closely together. We are obviously going to look into this matter, because it’s very, very serious.”
While Brand didn’t elaborate on the accusations or identify the media outlet or outlets involved, Britain’s Evening Standard reports that investigative news show “Dispatches” is scheduled to air a special 90-minute episode on Saturday, but the content of that broadcast is being kept tightly under wraps.
According to the newspaper, Channel 4 news anchor Krishnan Guru-Murthy sparked speculation on social media when he shared a screenshot of the show’s schedule on X (formerly Twitter), along with the caption: “Something’s up.” He reportedly deleted the tweet about an hour later.
Meanwhile, the Daily Mail points out that at the same time the “Dispatches” episode is set to air, Brand will be performing a sold-out standup comedy gig in London.
