Russell Brand postpones all tour dates as ex-Channel 4 editor labels allegations as ‘MeToo’ moment for TV

Shortly after the release of “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” Kristen Bell told interviewers that she had to “intimidate” her co-star Russell Brand to make sure he understood she was not interested in a sexual relationship with him during the shoot.

Her recollections of her time with the British actor and comedian have been dredged up in the wake of allegations that he raped and sexually assaulted a number of women at the peak of his fame.

A joint investigation by The Times, The Sunday Times, and Channel 4 Dispatches highlighted the stories of four women — including one who was a minor at the time — who say Brand either raped or sexually assaulted them between 2006 and 2013.

Brand has denied the allegations.

A Government minister has urged women who have experienced sexual assault to report it to the police.

Asked by LBC radio host Nick Ferrari what broadcasters should do in the wake of allegations against Russell Brand, which the comedian and actor has denied, pensions minister Laura Trott told LBC radio: “I think everybody needs to do better.

“I think no woman, Nick, reading the allegations that were all over the place this weekend could do anything other than shudder. It’s horrific.

“And I pay absolute tribute to the women who’ve come forward and also the journalists that have pursued this, the editors who’ve allowed them to do that, the investment that’s been put in place and the huge legal risk that’s taken for stories such as these.

“We all need to do better. And I would just plead any woman who’s had experiences like this to come forward and to report them to the police.”

Russell Brand has 6.61 million subscribers on YouTube, which is about the same number as he had before the latest allegations about rape, sexual assault and emotional abuse became public.

It’s a sizeable audience – a little bigger, for example, than the more wholesome Ant and Dec can pull in for ITV on a Saturday evening – and one that has clearly not been so repulsed by the claims about him to make the effort to unsubscribe. Nor has Google (corporately listed as Alphabet Inc), owner of YouTube, seen fit to “cancel” Brand, who must bring them (as well as himself) substantial revenues.

As was apparent on the very evening the story broke, Brand was still able to fill a theatre, though his performance was reportedly distracted. His fan base, misguided or not, are sticking with him, most remarking that he is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law – ie beyond reasonable doubt and setting a relatively high bar before they withdraw their adulation.

Scandal-ridden comedian. Hollywood husband. Drug addict-turned-wellness-guru. Left-wing activist. Conspiracy theorist. Over the course of two decades in the spotlight, the British stand-up and presenter Russell Brand has put forward many different personas to the public. Now, another, darker side to the comic has emerged, as he has been accused of rape, sexual assault and emotionally abusing four women.

Brand released a video on Saturday 17 September before the allegations were made public to deny “serious criminal allegations” ,which he said related to his “promiscuous” past.

The 48-year-old comedian and actor said he “absolutely refutes” the claims and suggested two “mainstream media outlets” were making a “coordinated” attack against him. Later that day, a joint Sunday Times and Channel 4 Dispatches investigation was released, revealing the allegations against him.

The allegations that have been made against Russell Brand are “one of the MeToo moments for TV”, the former Editor-at-Large of Channel 4 has said.

Dorothy Byrne told Channel 4 News: “Historically there has been a culture in television of putting up with appalling behaviour by some men on the basis they are so-called stars.”

Dame Maria Miller MP, former culture secretary and women’s minister, suggested non-disclosure agreements should be outlawed in the entertainment industry if they have been used to silence people over alleged incidents involving Russell Brand.

She told Sky News’ Politics Hub that the organisations involved should provide “an explanation as to why they didn’t have practices in place for people who wanted to speak out”.

“I think they’ve got to be held accountable for the way they’re treating their staff,” she said.

“I also want to dig more into some of the comments that were made over the weekend about people not feeling still able to speak out about these instances and particularly comments from both the BBC and also the talent company which made me feel that maybe non-disclosure agreements had been used potentially leading to people being silenced about things which are now patently issues that could be criminal allegations.”

Asked whether the use of NDAs should be looked at, she replied: “We’ve seen not only in this case but in other instances where media organisations have routinely been… been using industry standard non-disclosure secrecy provisions within contracts that they use when people suffer unlawful wrongdoing at work. I hope this isn’t the case here, but if it is I hope it gives impetus to the Government to take action.”

She added: “There’s been action taken to stop use of NDAs in universities and perhaps this instance with Russell Brand, if there are non-disclosure agreements involved, would indicate we need to take the same action to outlaw their use across… the entertainment industry too.”

Russell Brand’s publisher announced it is “pausing” all future book projects with the comedian after allegations of sexual assault were made against him.

Bluebird, an imprint of Pan Macmillan, has published Brand’s titles including Recovery: Freedom From Our Addictions and Mentors: How To Help And Be Helped in recent years.

In a statement to the PA news agency, the company said: “These are very serious allegations and in the light of them, Bluebird has taken the decision to pause all future publishing with Russell Brand.”

An upcoming title, Recovery: The Workbook, by the 48-year-old actor and presenter was due to be published by Bluebird in December 2025, according to company’s website.

“Why are they only talking about this now?” “Why didn’t they report it to the police?” “Did they bring it upon themselves?” “Are they doing it for the money?” “Is this all just a plan to take down another successful man?”

It doesn’t matter whether it’s the president of the United States, a stand-up comedian or someone’s brother-in-law – when women speak out about alleged male violence, we hear the same, predictable responses.

Even before the allegations of sexual assault and rape had been shared by The Sunday Times, thousands took to social media to criticise the women as liars, attention seekers, fame-hungry, mentally ill… even plants from the government.

Anything but telling the truth.