CONTENT WARNING: RAPE AND SEXUAL ASSAULT
British comedian and actor Russell Brand has been accused of rape, sexual assault, and emotional abuse by at least four women.
The allegations arose from a joint investigation by the UK’s Sunday Times, The Times and Channel 4.
Brand denies the allegations and has called the investigation a “coordinated attack“.
Investigation into Russell Brand
UK media outlets have published allegations of sexual misconduct allegedly committed by Brand between 2006 and 2013.
According to the investigation, the women whose experiences are detailed in the report only felt comfortable sharing their stories after being approached by reporters.
Most of their names have been changed to maintain anonymity.
Allegations of sexual assault
There are four women who made allegations against Brand in this investigation.
One of these women, ‘Alice’, was a 16-year-old high school student when she met Brand, then 30. Alice alleges Brand was emotionally and sexually abusive to her over a three-month period.
She also alleges that Brand, a BBC radio presenter at the time, often sent a car to her school to take her from school to his house.
Another woman, ‘Phoebe’, says Brand sexually assaulted her while she worked with him on a project at his property in Los Angeles. Phoebe alleges she begged him to get off her when he touched her inappropriately without her consent.
A woman named ‘Nadia’ was allegedly raped by Brand after she refused to participate in a threesome. She presented to a rape treatment centre that same day.
An employee on the set of one of Brand’s television shows, ‘Rachel’, alleges he exposed himself to her.
Previous allegation
The report also featured allegations from a woman named Jordan Martin, first shared in a self-published novel in 2014.
In her novel, Martin describes a six-month relationship with a celebrity (renamed “Randall Grand”) where she was sexually assaulted and the victim of physical and emotional abuse.
Martin declined to be interviewed by the investigative reporters but told them she stood by her account.
Brand’s response
Brand denied any criminal wrongdoing in a video shared on social media hours before the report’s release.
Here’s what he said.
Industry response
Since the release of the report, Brand’s previous employers – including the BBC and Channel 4 – have said they will launch their own investigations against Brand.
The BBC says this will include an inquiry into claims Brand used their car service to pick Alice up from school.
Brand’s literary agency, Tavistock Wood, and a domestic violence charity, Trevi, have cut all professional ties with Brand.
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