Russell Brand

It took ages for Sachs and his granddaughter to start speaking again. I wonder if Sachs is a bit on the conservative side.

Did you actually hear that tape, petallus? You wouldn't need to be very conservative to have been shocked and mortified to learn what your granddaughter had been up to...

As for RB being a hypocrite, what are you supposed to do if you come from a humble, even disadvantaged background, gravitate towards left wing politics/anarchism and then suddenly make it and become rich?

Seems you can only do two things to resolve the dissonance. One you can give your money away and continue to live in squalor. Two you can change your political views and take elocution lessons.

Or you can just live with the contradiction.

I think I did hear bits of the tape but can't remember details now. I got the impression the granddaughter is/was a free spirit. Did something more than straightforward sex go on then?

There's no excusing what happened. It is disgraceful when a man boasts about sex in this way, naming the woman involved. Bad enough in a social circle, worse to broadcast it, even more embarrassing when a grandparent is involved.

I just wonder if some grandfathers might have dealt with it in some other way than stopping speaking to their granddaughter.

It's hard for me to say as I don't have granddaughters but I hope I would have been supportive.

Yes of course, although we don't really know exactly what happened between Sachs and his granddaughter after the incident.

Ana I agree. I suddenly felt very uncomfortable about my comments re Sachs when I really have very little idea of what went on. I did read a long interview with the granddaughter though where she indicated it took a long time for her to become reconciled with her grandfather.

I should imagine the situation was extremely awkward for both of them, and for the rest of the family - thank goodness it's not an experience any of us will have to go through (fingers firmly crossed!).

On the plus side, his career took off again. Because his name was back in the public eye, he received several offers of work. He admitted later that it had been very good in that way.

I think to RB everything it out and open, nothing is private. He gets right to the nitty-gritty and because he has no inhibitions, didn't always think that others do. Hopefully he is a little less thoughtless now that he is older. He is highly intelligent and a very quick thinker. I suspect he wouldn't suffer fools gladly.

No doubt this post will be deleted, but I think that someone posting on this thread is a re-incarnation of a previous poster/member several times over!

PS. I think I/you know who you are!

Phoenix You might just be right! A feeling of Deja vu.

what are you supposed to do if you come from a humble, even disadvantaged background, gravitate towards left wing politics/anarchism and then suddenly make it and become rich?

Well, you could just go somewhere pleasant and live a normal, pleasant, comfortable, not very public life. Actually, scratch out 'normal' and insert anarchistic.

Well, how odd, just tried to PM Nancy whatever, and got a message saying "this member is currently unable to receive pm's"

You could but RB does not seem to have the kind of personality which would be happy with a pleasant and 'normal' existence. He would probably be extreme if he wasn't wealthy.

Anyway what is normal? I suppose Gemima Khan thinks her life is normal.

Prince Charles summed it up. When asked what it was like being a Prince he said he didn't know because he had never been anything else.

I didn't.

Although I think nancy has left a bit off her profile.

I think she's been frightened off...

outed more like Who said that?

Wonder who she'll come back as next time

I wish someone would be more explicit.

I did say scratch out normal.

One can live an eccentric life without being so public about it. Many people do, even when they aren't mega-rich and anarchistic.

Russell Brand, like many other celebrities, is probably just trying to get on with his life. It's the media who hound such people and ensure they are always in the public eye.

Incidentally do you consider that Tony Benn was a hypocrite?

RB could always tell the media to bugger off and choose not to keep appearing on the telly.

No, I don't think Tony Benn was a hypocrite. He wasn't an anarchist either.

It's the RB anarchist bit that I dislike.

Has he described himself as an anarchist?

I don't think telling the media to go away works all that well. Often pics of celebrities are taken as they come out of night clubs, go through an airport etc. Quite intrusive.

He has told people not to vote.