Russell Brand accused of rape, sexual assaults and abuse

ZeroCool@feddit.ch to News@lemmy.world – 583 points –
Russell Brand accused of rape, sexual assaults and abuse
thetimes.co.uk
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The idea that Elon Musk and Andrew Tate think that publically backing him helps quash any suggestion of bad actions is laughable.

Not enough scientists involved, he can't get it up he has to spew in a cup to get the job done.

"If I were inclined to engage in sexual harassment, this is unlikely to be the first time in my entire 30-year career that it comes to light."

So business as usual for this guy

No part of this is surprising except that it hasn't come to light a decade ago.

That's not surprising either. This stuff usually only ever comes to light, when the talent is no longer profitable.

Well that’s fucking depressing

Totally agreed. But are we going to argue that The Russel Brand Experience was a profitable TV venture?

Lawl my partner and I were talking about a WEEK ago, saying we were surprised and happy that he’s apparently not raped anyone, or at least no allegations have come up.

This article is extremely relevant to that convo bahahaha

I though that this did come to light before. Is this title missing an 'Again'

Once upon a time I actually liked Russell Brand. Thought he was intelligent and quite in touch with the ways of the world despite his eccentric character. He truly lost the plot when covid came around, although it wasn't the first time he'd talked absolute shite.

In hindsight, it's not really a surprise that he'd be this kind of person.

Yeah, I know a lot of people thought he was a reasonably smart dude with some interesting insights. But when you think about it he’s always been very superficial. There’s not much depth to any of his takes. He’s just charismatic and speaks like he keeps a pocket thesaurus in his jacket.

He a junkie you would see rambling at a bus stop incoherently. The difference is an expanded vocabulary and a he's been on TV.

He was funny at one point. But he never grew past the need for the attention and didn't branch out of teenager years.

When I was poor and I complained about inequality they said I was bitter. Now I'm rich and I complain about inequality they say I'm a hypocrite. I'm starting to think they just don't want to talk about inequality. —Russell Brand

Still one of my favorite quotes, it’s unfortunate that I won’t really be able to use it any more.

Brand used to be a legit socialist back in the day. The longer he had money, the harder I think was for him to continue to understand the struggle of the common people. Either that or its audience capture like what happened to Dave Rueben.

The YouTube channel the Kavernacle has done some good coverage on his drift to the right.

He definitely didn't come up with that line, I'm sure you could find an attribution to something virtually identical said a century ago, and several times since.
I just watched a program about this, and he was a creep from the get go.
A guy vaguely understanding class struggles doesn't make him a socialist nor a good guy.

I’m pretty sure he described himself as a socialist once upon a time. I’m not one to gate keep what people call themselves.

But yeah just because he’s a socialist that doesn’t make him a good person. Marx probably had an unclaimed child with his servant girl.

Marx was an utter piece of shit in many ways. He just had some very good ideas. I've always wondered how many of them can be attributed to Engles though.

Hitler called himself a socialist too, that's a pretty low bar.. 🤦‍♀️

All you've done so far is attempt to derail the conversation about Brand being a rapist..

I’m sorry that’s not my intention. Do you think it would be best if we delete this thread?

I was just working through how my perception of him had changed over the years. I don’t want to downplay his alleged crimes.

I appreciate that you didn't mean to, but making it about him and whatever good he supposedly did, in a conversation about the several women he raped (and however many more he "just" assaulted), is at best highly inappropriate (and at worst is a well known derailing tactic used by those looking to defend a rapist and/or discredit his victims). Deleting the thread probably won't do much, but learning from this for the future will.

Part of rape culture is the massively false idea that "nice guys" don't rape, ignoring the fact that many rapists and abusers are experts at manipulating everyone around them (rapists "infiltrating" leftist circles, especially feminist ones, to gain access to victims, as well as the language to disarm their defences, is sadly not at all unusual).

I would highly recommend watching the Dispatches episode that aired about this last night if you can. In several of his performances/appearances he basically admits to putting an act on to get people to ignore how shitty he really is (as well as graphic descriptions of what we now know were some of his assaults, which he used as part of his comedy routine).

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So many people I used to watch on youtube lost their fucking minds in 2020.

This is shit he was doing more than ten years ago.

You can't blame this shit on lockdown, he's always been a failure of a human being, it's just now we're finding out details.

I never liked him much, and that's not a "I knew he was out there raping", that I didn't know. But personality-wise he was basically an egocentric rockstar who thought he knew it all and everyone not agreeing with his views and sense of humour were just too stupid.

And turns out, he is behaving even more like a 80s rockstar than I thought.

Perfectly cast in Get Him to the Greek, but at the time I thought it was acting, not just rolling out of bed.

Yeah I always thought he was hilarious because he was doing a shtick but as it turns out, that's just him.

Yeah, it's also why his movie career (at least as a comic lead) started in 2008 and was dead by the middle of 2011. He's got no range and audiences were only willing to pay to see Russell Brand being "Russell Brand in a different outfit" so many times before he wore out his welcome.

He lost the plot well before Covid, it's just that it wasn't noticed outside the UK as it largely revolved around our election in 2015 when he was encouraging people not to vote, then when he realised at the last minute this would just lead to he Tories winning by default, backed labour at the eleventh hour, leaving a lot of his followers confused and aimless so the alt-right could swoop in and win them over.

I noticed that people who are using recreational drugs are disproportionally concerned about vaccine safety, which I find quite amusing.

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I liked his old podcasts back when he was still on drugs but pretending he was clean.

I'm just waiting for the study that shows COVID infection makes certain people less empathetic and more paranoid. There's just too much of it happening to not be biological IMO.

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And in news that surprised absolutely no one...

I swear there's a dark triad for "free thinkers" like him.

He used to be good but like many they started doubling down on their beliefs during the pandemic and quite frankly they become mentally unwell.

Was he good, or was he just grifting a different group before?

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It's always the ones you mostly suspect.

I'm seriously more surprised these days when i read something like: leonardo DiCaprio never raped anyone.

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Kutcher and Kunis' phones ringing off the hook right now.

There was a Dispatches program on about this tonight, and at some point they note that later in his career Brand would do charity work exclusively to benefit women, and Kutcher was my first thought.
Not saying he's done anything, but so often men claim to be feminists as a smoke screen to hide abusive behaviour ("he would never, look at all the good he's done!") and/or access victims.

You know we have a real problem in our society when these women haven't been able to come forward with these allegations until the press have contacted them.

If they fear coming forward after being assaulted by someone who is hardly discreet about being a sexual predator, what must it be like for the victims of more outwardly respectable public figures?

Can we make a list of right wingers that aren't disgusting pieces of shit? Will be much quicker.

Funnily enough he used to be pretty left.

It's like this right wing conspiracy pipeline is a honeypot for pond scum that reveals who they really are.

Populist rhetoric works because it offers seemingly simple solutions to complex problems and excuses behavior that would otherwise be unacceptable.

Sometimes it's even a good excuse, others just an outlet for hate and stress.

I thought he was quite left as well hadn't realized he swung to the right

He always struck me as one of those people who wasn't, in his heart of hearts, actually left-wing, but rather just wanted to be counter-cultural. The culture has shifted around him and now if he wants to be counter-cultural it means being alt-right.

Me too. Damn. Conspiracy to fascist pipeline got another one, I guess.

I thought he was socialist?

I think he used to say he was, not sure if he does anymore.

His content mostly caputred the right wing conspiracy don't trust the gubbement, aliens are real, covid is not real but also a bioweapon crowd.

Never did like that guy. He seemed like a creep from the start, and I didn't ever find him funny.

I've never met a person irl who didn't think this guy was unfunny and a super creep. I could never figure out why he was famous cause I've never met a person who was even kinda a fan of his

He was in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, which is a pretty well-regarded movie. He probably gets a fair amount of residual respect just from proximity to that.

That movie and get him to the Greek are basically the only high profile things I've seen him in.

Apart from anything else, he always just looked to me like he didn't bathe very often.

Completely and utterly damning. He's a rapist. I hope an investigation and conviction follows this reporting. Also maybe now's the time to codify that 16 year olds shouldn't be fair game for 30 year old men.

"He's a rapist."

If I wrote an article about you with an accusation of rape, would that also make you a rapist? Is that the standard of proof required?

It depends, does your article reference a verified report from a rape crisis centre and a text apologising for the rape from the rapist?

With several accusations of rape, from different people describing very similar circumstances, echoing his 'comedy', with one receiving apologies from a man who heard her screaming as the assault was occurring and was too afraid to intervene.

Your knee-jerk apologism for this slimy predator reflects very badly on you. You can't even be bothered to research the accusations you're dismissing. Take a good look at yourself, it is not too late to change.

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What an absolute asshole monster

That Times article should come with a trigger warning, it contains descriptions of the assaults.

It only shows the beginning of the article to me.

Try pasting the original link in here

https://12ft.io/

I always use this place. So far has always worked for me.

https://archive.ph/nS2wu

None of these have worked for me, they all stop at

One woman alleges that Brand raped her against a wall in his Los Angeles home. She was treated at a rape crisis centre on the same day,

archive.ph doesn't even load.

Not a single person with a brain is surpriced. The guy is a GLOWING red flag.

When he came out getting super loud and obnoxious on political takes I figured he was the type. No surprise at all...

Didn't he non-consensually post candid pics of Katy Perry without makeup? I thought he was an asshole ever since then. Not that she should've been ashamed, but it should've been her choice.

I don't know the non-consensual bit for sure, but that's how I recall it being presented at the time and why I've never liked him. I'd never heard of the fucker before that.

I hadn't heard that until now but if he did that without her permission that's a shitty thing to do to a partner. Whether you're a celebrity or not there's a certain expectation of privacy that needs to be established in intimate relationships.

Not surprised. Will blame it on the drugs and drink. Slap in the wrist, British tabs will have their fun, then it will all go back to normal.

Ah. So that is why I saw a headline about him bitching.

Not surprised. This dude has always been a chode

I'm sure the sort of people who fall for his dog whistle conspiracy brain damage will take these allegations seriously. Oh wait, of course they won't.

I've only seen six or seven "news" posts about this chode this morning. Step it up people. Let's get it up to a dozen or two. Please keep posting about smelly looking British man.

I've only seen six or seven "news" posts about this chode this morning. Step it up people. Let's get it up to a dozen or two. Please keep posting about smelly looking British man.

You’re commenting on an article that was posted 8 days ago dumbass.

Edit: lol you even commented in this post last week! Idiot.

https://lemmings.world/comment/2073303

Not a fan of Brand but I am sick of this media circus bullshit.. they should not be publishing this unless a police investigation has taken place and he is charged and found guilty in court; we have a legal system for a reason.

They have opened themselves up to be sued for slander.

And so close to elections Now nobody will believe anything he says.... how convenient

lol imagine caring what Russell Brand has to say about an election anywhere on earth.

Pretty serious libel here...

Do you even know what that means? How exactly is reporting allegations made by others libel? You know you'd have to prove that the statements are untrue and (since he's a public figure) you'd have to prove that the people making the claims knew they were untrue at the time right?

Ok, for now its defamation and when its proven false then its slander. Is that more correct mr sir

No it isn't. Reporting on allegations and other newsworthy topics is literally the joirnalists' jobs. They aren't liable for libel or slander as long as they are reporting in good faith. And almost by definition reporting on something someone else said is in good faith as long as you think that they think it's true.

Firstly, it cant be slander as that only applies to verbal communication. Secondly, if you read the article they refer to him as a predator based on these allegations. They are reporting these allegations af if they are facts. At this point it is just defamation, but if it goes to court and we find out there isnt a case then it becomes slander. Theres no way someone can call someone a derogatory term in good faith.

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I am certainly not defending Russell of these accusations, but I do see but just a quick search that the Times UK is a conservative paper and would love to tales Russell down as he is a threat for sure right or wrong.

Where the hell have you been? Russell Brand has been pandering to the Alt-Right for years now. He’s no threat to conservatives anywhere.

He makes them look bad though. Maybe they're eager to throw him under the bus because he's "Hollywood" and that serves their narrative about west-coast celebrity elites.

Because he's a rapist? Since when do conservatives distance themselves from rapists?

I'm saying they're distancing themselves because he doesn't fit their desired image, not because he's a rapist.

Nah they cling to every mainstream celebrity they can get.

The right wing make themselves look bad all the time, he's playing their song.

Russel Brand uses a left wing aesthetic, but continually attacks and call for an end to the institutions that protect and preserve democracy.

He calls for an end to the systems that no longer serve us - only their own best interests. Take a look around at the world - climate change and capitalism run rampant. It doesn't matter if team blue or team red are in charge. The whole establishment political spectrum are self-serving sheep in wolves clothing.

That's the core of his message.

It matters so much who is in charge. Trump and the right have so much blood on their hands from COVID. People died because they made containing and stopping the spread of a potentially deadly virus a political spectacle that emboldened their idiot base to ignorantly fight medical science. If you don't think it matters who's in charge you either don't pay attention and your opinion is useless or you're just another fake centrist trying to convince people that both sides are the same to hide from the deeply shameful and disgusting behavior of the right.

The Times is a reputable newspaper, and in no way comparable to fox news.

Also, Russel Brand is now arguably alt-right adjacent.

Yeah The Times is right wing, but it's no Torygraph, Daily Fail, or Sin. It's like the respectable right wing paper, with at least some measure of journalistic integrity, at the top of the scale sliding down into tabloid rags.

It's a co-investigation with Channel 4 who are probably our most progressive of the free-to-air channels, and Brand jumped the horseshoe to the alt-right ages ago.

The same way that right wing media companies in America are scrambling to take Joe Rogan off the air?

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