This article contains references to sexual violence, coercive control, and violence against women.
Russell Brand, 49, has been accused of rape, sexual assault, manipulation and emotional abuse by a number of alleged victims.
A review into Brand’s conduct at the BBC, where he was employed between 2006 and 2008, investigated eight claims against the comedian, including an incident where he allegedly followed a colleague into the toilet and exposed his penis.
Peter Johnston, the BBC director of editorial complaints and reviews, noted that while the “culture of the time undoubtedly influenced what was acceptable/tolerated,” he still found that “a number of individuals had concerns about Russell Brand’s behaviour, which they felt unable to raise then.”
The allegations against Brand were first published on 16 September 2023, via a joint investigation conducted by The Times and The Sunday Times together with Channel 4’s Dispatches. The Channel 4 documentary, Russell Brand: In Plain Sight: Dispatches, was released on 18 September 2023, detailing the investigation. Brand has denied all accusations against him and maintains that his sexual encounters were “absolutely always consensual”.
1975: Russell Brand’s birthplace and personal life
Russell Brand was born in Grays, Essex, in 1975. He was raised by his mother after his parents separated when he was six months old. Aged 16, he left home due to a troubled relationship with his mother’s partner and began to take illegal drugs.
He attended Italia Conti Academy in 1991 but was expelled during his first year for illicit drug taking and poor attendance. He went to rehab in 2003 to recover from alcohol and drug addiction.
Brand has been married twice: first to Katy Perry, whom he married in October 2010 after meeting the previous year, and subsequently to Laura Brand, born Gallacher, a children’s author. The couple have two daughters, born in 2016 and 2018 respectively, and the family live in Henley, Oxfordshire.
Eamonn M. McCormack
2000: Russell Brand’s comedy and presenting career
Brand was first in the spotlight as a video journalist for MTV, presenting the Dancefloor Chart in 2000, before being fired the following year for coming into work dressed as Osama Bin Laden in the wake of the September 11 attacks.
