GB News hosts clashed live on air over their thoughts on Russell Brand – and things got heated.
Brand, a comedian and actor turned YouTuber, has been accused by four women of rape, sexual assault and emotional abuse in a new joint investigation between Channel 4′s Dispatches, The Sunday Times and The Times.
Brand has denied any wrongdoing, and claimed all of his relationships have been consensual in a video post shared on his social media on Friday.
GB News presenters, Andrew Pierce and Bev Turner, covered the allegations while co-hosting on Monday morning – and soon dived into their own personal views about the claims against Brand.
Live on air, Pierce pointed out how Turner had reposted Brand’s video clip on X (formerly Twitter), expressing her support for him.
In her post, Turner told Brand he was “being attacked”, invited him on her GB News show, suggested that he’s a “hero”, and claimed: “Establishment media don’t know what to do with the fact that you have 6million subscribers and generate, autonomous, knowing and original content.”
Pierce read out her post to viewers, and then said: “Bev. That is shameful. You have dismissed in one tweet a four-year investigation by The Sunday Times, The Times and Channel 4 as contemptuously the mainstream media.”
He pointed out that one of the accusers claims Brand groomed her when she was just 16 and still in school, while two others claimed they were raped.
Pierce said: “Don’t you think before you say he’s a hero, you should establish whether these very serious allegations are true?”
Turned replied, claiming “before I tweeted that, I had spoken to several sources” close to the story – although she stopped short of saying she spoke to the accusers.
Turner added: “If that is what they have got after four years of a joint investigation by The Times newspaper and Channel 4, those four flimsy allegations by women who choose to stay anonymous, so there is nobody who countered their version of events.”
Pierce started to talk over her, asking if she had “any sympathy” for the women in question.
“Anyone who is sexually assaulted, my heart goes out to them, this happens every day in this country,” Turner replied.
But her co-host said: “There is not a scintilla of sympathy on this statement on Twitter for these four women, who I would argue – none of them know each other - it’s a very big thing to go public.”
Turner then explained why she called Brand her hero in her post, saying: “He’s winning because he’s a man who generates his own content, under his own speed, under his own expense, he is a threat to all of these newspapers.”
Pierce added: “The ones you write for when you get a chance?”
Turner hit back that she loves newspapers, before pivoting to her main query around the allegations, and asking why these claims were coming to light now.
Pierce just reminded her that the investigation took four years, and the allegations are increasing in number, according to The Times. The newspaper has clarified that these new claims are yet to be “rigorously checked”.
“I’m astonished that you leapt to his defence,” Pierce said, while Turner just claimed her co-host clearly hadn’t watched any of Brand’s content over the last three years.
When Turner then revealed she published that post defending Brand on X before watching the Dispatches documentary, Pierce reacted angrily, hitting the table and looking away in frustration.
He concluded: “Shame on you, for attacking these women.”
Meanwhile, Turner started talking about Brand’s coverage of Covid-19 at the height of the pandemic, which she believes turning him into a “hero”.
Help and support:
- Victim Support - Visit victimsupport.org.uk or call 0808 168 9111 Sexual Abuse Referral Centres - Find a SARC
- Rape Crisis - Visit rapecrisis.org.uk or call 0808 802 9999 The Rape and Abuse Line - Visit rapeandabuseline.co.uk or call 0808 800 0123 (answered by women) or 0808 800 0122 (answered by men).