Russell Brand

Boomer1947

Apparently he had a father who took him to brothels when he was a teenager. That is very damaging to an impressionable young man. I agree with those who point out innocent until proven guilty. The lynch mob is in full swing with this one.
His wife of 10 years speaks well of him and says he is a very good dad. He goes to Church and reads the bible. What more do you want him to do to atone for past "sins".

To atone for ‘past sins’. S starting point would be the admission of responsibility rather than putting the (alleged) victims through the horror of a trial. Surely we are all aware that some wives, partners, can see no wrong in their men. Being a good dad doesn’t mean he isn’t a sexual predator. As he’s pleading not guilty, that suggests he tells his wife he’s never behaved as several women, none of whom knew each other before going to the police, are all wicked liars.

At what age do you consider Brand became responsible for his behaviour. His father may have been a poor role model but Brand had agency, choices about his behaviour. I’ve worked with men and women who were subject to horrific sexual abuse as children and did not repeat the pattern

Odious indeed and in plain sight. Now he is a darling of the evangelical MAGA brigade as he has “seen the light” and been saved. Oh sure.

He admitted to this sort of behaviour 20 years ago.

His comment (not quoted verbatim) that he prayed that there would be a good outcome for everybody on the news last night just shows how little understanding of sexual crimes he has whether he perpetrated them or not. He is obviously hoping he will get found not guilty...I am not sure how that would ever be a good outcome for the alleged victims. Even if he gets found guilty, those victims would still be suffering.
He is not a good, sincere Christian and his emulation of one is purely performative. It makes my blood boil.

Another popular celeb accused of rape etc., it seems to be an occupational hazard. When I watched a programme about this some time ago it appears that those working with him in the television studio knew what he was like but nothing was done. I think we have all heard that before. And on my opinion those who enabled this should also be in the dock.
How utterly soul destroying it must be for those women to know that if they complained nothing would be done about it.
This needs to change but I won’t hold my breath.

And instead of praying for a good outcome he should pray for forgiveness.

Yes I watched that too and it was obvious that his behaviour was well known. It might be a good idea for us as a society not to believe that aiming to sleep with thousands of women is acceptable or amusing.

Well, I go to church and read the Bible, and pray.
None of these activities should be a " Get Out of Jail Free card", should I be found guilty of a crime, and none should feature in my defence.

Calendargirl

Wasn’t he the one who was nasty to Andrew Sachs granddaughter, along with Jonathan Ross?

Never rated either of them since,

Yes and Andrew Sachs was never the same afterwards. A despicable, childish stunt, which has meant that l try to avoid watching anything with them in it.

@Marjgran, I am a practicing Christian of an evangelical bent. I can assure you that I am as far from a MAGA supporter as it is possible to be, as are other Christians in this country

I can’t imagine that even a guilty verdict will be a good outcome for all those involved.

It’s worrying how many people are now coming forward and saying they saw things going on, but just passed by on the other side of the road rather than doing anything.

I do wonder, did the 100 men who Lily Phillips slept with in one day feel abused?

The first I heard of him being converted to Christianity was after I'd heard about the accusations. He was baptised in Sep 2024. I thought 'how convenient'.

The Andrew Sachs incident was not the first incident. This was in the Guardian 3 years ago.

Russell Brand – the comedian, actor and podcaster – is no stranger to controversy. The day after the September 11 terrorist attacks in the US in 2001, Brand turned up for work as a video journalist at MTV dressed as Osama bin Laden and was later sacked.

The next year he was sacked by XFM radio after he read pornographic material on air during an afternoon show.

In 2008, during a performance at the Royal and Derngate theatre in Northampton he made a hoax call to police saying he had seen a man responsible for a series of assaults. Northamptonshire police decided not to bring charges.

And so it went on.....there were plenty more.

Wouldn't describe him as naff. He loves himself too much for that.

Try sleazy and slime ball.

Should be an interesting trial.

Never understood how he became a Celebrity, what's he actually good at?

Loathsome creature - wouldn’t you be ashamed to be his mother?

Tenko

Calendargirl

Wasn’t he the one who was nasty to Andrew Sachs granddaughter, along with Jonathan Ross?

Never rated either of them since,

Me neither .

That was a particularly low thing to do - Jonathan Ross behaved an over excited schoolboy, and they were both pretty disgusting - who would find that kind of 'humour' amusing?

Behaved like.....

Chestnut

The first I heard of him being converted to Christianity was after I'd heard about the accusations. He was baptised in Sep 2024. I thought 'how convenient'.

The Andrew Sachs incident was not the first incident. This was in the Guardian 3 years ago.

Russell Brand – the comedian, actor and podcaster – is no stranger to controversy. The day after the September 11 terrorist attacks in the US in 2001, Brand turned up for work as a video journalist at MTV dressed as Osama bin Laden and was later sacked.

The next year he was sacked by XFM radio after he read pornographic material on air during an afternoon show.

In 2008, during a performance at the Royal and Derngate theatre in Northampton he made a hoax call to police saying he had seen a man responsible for a series of assaults. Northamptonshire police decided not to bring charges.

And so it went on.....there were plenty more.

He’s a menace and am afraid I don’t believe his conversion to religion at all, for one thing it sounds like a very weird take on Christianity as espoused by hymself and his wife. Looks like just another means for him to call attention to himself.

I'd feel slightly less revulsion if he hadn't, later - when his popularity began to wane - 'found religion'. At least he'd have been true to whatever cause it was that he espoused. He's just another weak man enthralled by his own image of himself.

Men like him who gain a 'reputation' within organisations in which they work usually do so for a good reason - and those institutions ignore it in their own interests. A familiar pattern.

I had a similar, but far less serious, experience when years ago I worked for an (at the time) fairly well-known international company. The head-honcho had a habit of being far too familiar with the young women in the office; under the pretext of being 'friendly' and 'understanding' he would put his arm around the women, or around their waist and pull them close to him. He did it to me - the first time, when he put his arm round me though I felt uncomfortable I dismissed the event as him being a silly old sod who just didn't realise... but when he grabbed me by the waist, so hard that it hurt, I complained to my immediate boss, who told me that I'd "got it wrong" because the man was just being "friendly". It was, apparently, "his way".

Do you know the worst thing about this comparatively minor event? It was the fact that my boss - a man I actually liked because he seemed decent and 'gentlemanly' - didn't for one minute believe the excuse he was making. I could see it in his eyes, his expression, and the way in which he tried to brush-off the event. And, what made it even worse was that he (my boss) had a much-loved teenage daughter; a child that he and his wife had been hoping for over a period of many years and of whom he was extremely protective. I'm pretty sure that if she had told him of a similar event, his reaction would've been quite different. Such is the patriarchy.

I can't make any comment on the actual charges against Brand because we have to abide by the usual edict of innocent until proven guilty. But quite apart from those, 'society' lets men get away with predatory and sleazy behaviour - maybe because basically it's structured around the needs and goals of men.

Odious vile man,never liked him! Always looks filthy...What a sight he looks....🤢🤮

Sorry that happened to you Dickens.
I think there is a possibility that he thinks his conversion is genuine in the way an addict replaces one addiction/obsession with another. He is deeply disturbed.

Dickens, in the early eighties I was involved in a Rights of Women group. Members were psychologists, barristers, solicitors, social workers, probation officers and more. If we had a hands up who has experienced sexual abuse or harrassment - it was invariably over 80%

I’m not minimising Dickens experience, certainly saying it was ‘normal’ back then
I Not all of believe it’s getting worse after a short golden age where many spoke out against misogyny

Galaxy

Sorry that happened to you Dickens.
I think there is a possibility that he thinks his conversion is genuine in the way an addict replaces one addiction/obsession with another. He is deeply disturbed.

... I think you've made a good point - Brand has replaced one obsession with another. It's probably a 'known' psychological phenomena.

Who knows, if it doesn't 'work out' for him, he might choose another because, being cynical, I doubt altruism is involved in his choice.

My experience was nothing compared to what other women have had to go through. And I was working as a 'temp' (albeit a very long temp booking) and could've left any time... this was the 70s and there were jobs aplenty then.

Iam64

I’m not minimising Dickens experience, certainly saying it was ‘normal’ back then
I Not all of believe it’s getting worse after a short golden age where many spoke out against misogyny

Yes it was considered 'normal' back then. And that was not my first experience either... the first was when the man I worked for put his hand up my skirt - Id given birth a few weeks earlier and that did upset me. Stunned into inactivity for a while, I ultimately got up and walked out. The agency I worked for were supportive, but not to the extent of calling him out. They didn't want to lose the contract.

I was angered more than upset.

But again, these were minor incidents - other women have had far worse ones. And, in common with many women, those two experiences were not the last, not by a long chalk.

But Brand took predatory behaviour to another level.