New details are emerging about allegations of sexual misconduct against British actor and comedian Russell Brand, including reports that industry insiders considered removing female staff from his shows for their safety instead of Brand.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, UK news organizations the Times of London and Channel 4 Dispatches published a bombshell story this weekend revealing that four women accuse Brand of raping them between 2006 and 2013, including two women who say the assaults took place in Los Angeles.
A fifth woman made other allegations against Brand of misbehavior.
One of the accusers, who is referred to as “Alice” in the reporting, alleges that Brand began abusing her when she was just 16 years old, the age of consent in the UK.
Alice later worked for Channel 4 and she described a meeting she attended in which Brand was considered for hosting a television show.
Concerns were reportedly raised in the meeting about Brand’s behavior. In response, executives allegedly suggested that female staff not work on the show instead of Brand.
“The solution that was offered was that we would take the female staff off the crew — women that have worked hard to get into this industry — now can’t work on particular shows because of fear that they might be assaulted or harassed. I was in disbelief,” Alice said, according to The Guardian newspaper.
Hours before the news outlets publishing their reporting, Brand posted a video on social media denying any wrongdoing and stating that his relationships are always consensual, according to The Guardian
“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 and, as I’ve written about extensively in my books, I was very, very promiscuous,” Brand said in the video.
After the allegations were published, Brand performed a stand-up comedy show Saturday evening at London’s Troubabour Wembley Park Theatre. It was sold out.
“There’s some things I cannot talk about and hopefully, you appreciate that I’m gonna give you everything I’ve got,” he told attendees, according to Deadline.
Since the allegations were raised, police are urging anyone else who may have been victimized to come forward.
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[Feature Photo: Comedian Russell Brand speaks in Parliament Square during a protest against the Conservative Government and it’s austerity policies in London, Saturday, June 20, 2015. The protest is intended to be peaceful, but demonstrators are angry at public sector cuts meant to address government deficits, which ballooned after Britain rescued troubled banks during the 2008 financial crisis. Demonstrators argue the public is being punished for a crisis it did not cause. (AP Photo/Tim Ireland)]
