Russell Brand has shared a video online saying he “absolutely” denies unspecified criminal allegations relating to his personal life, which were outlined in two “extremely disturbing letters”.
Brand said he received the letters from a “mainstream media TV company” and a newspaper which he said included a “litany of extremely egregious and aggressive attacks”.
“Amidst this litany of astonishing, rather baroque attacks are some very serious allegations that I absolutely refute,” he said.
“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 have written about extensively in my books, I was very, very promiscuous.”
He continued: “Now during that time of promiscuity the relationships I had were absolutely, always consensual. I was always transparent about that then, almost too transparent, and I am being transparent about it now as well.
“To see that transparency metastasised into something criminal, that I absolutely deny, makes me question – is there another agenda at play?”
Brand added that he believed he was a part of a “coordinated attack”, likening it to the controversy in the media around Joe Rogan promoting ivermectin as a cure for COVID-19 (despite it not being endorsed as an effective treatment).
This is happening pic.twitter.com/N8zIKLbJN2
— Russell Brand (@rustyrockets) September 15, 2023
“I don’t mind them using my books and my stand-up to talk about my promiscuous consensual conduct in the past. What I seriously refute are these very, very serious criminal allegations.”
Brand also claimed that he knew of witnesses whose evidence “directly contradicts the narrative that these two mainstream media outlets are trying to construct.”
“I feel like I’m being attacked, and clearly, they are working very closely together.”
Brand pledged to “look into” the matter, re-emphasising that he saw it as “very, very serious”.
In the comments of the video posted on X (formerly known as Twitter), the platform’s CEO Elon Musk appeared to defend Brand.
“Of course. They don’t like competition,” he wrote.
Of course. They don’t like competition.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 15, 2023
In recent years, Brand has espoused various conspiracy theories, especially relating to vaccines and the COVID-19 pandemic, while also attacking the “mainstream media”.
Deadline reports that Brand has parted ways with his UK agent Tavistock Wood, with the reasoning that his profile no longer appears on the website, having been seen as recently as June. The agency did not respond to the outlet’s repeated requests for comment.
