English actor and comedian Russell Brand faces allegations of rape, sexual assault and abusive behavior in the wake of a joint investigation by multiple United Kingdom-based news outlets.
Four women say that Brand assaulted them, according to an investigation by The Sunday Times, The Times and Channel 4 Dispatches. The piece, published on Saturday in The Times, can be read in full here. Channel 4 also released a trailer for its upcoming special on the investigation, slated to air Saturday night.
The alleged assaults all took place between 2006 and 2013 when Brand’s acting career was at its peak. He starred in hit comedies “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and “Get Him To The Greek” in 2008 and 2010, respectively. He was also a presenter for BBC Radio 2 and Channel 4 during this period of time.
Brand, 48, has emphatically denied any criminal conduct. In a video he posted on social media the day before the investigation was published, Brand said he had received notice of “some very serious allegations that I absolutely refute.”
He added that he was simply “very, very promiscuous” at a certain point in his life.
“Now during that time of promiscuity, there relationships I had were absolutely always consensual,” he said. “I was always transparent about that then, almost too transparent, and I’m being transparent about it now as well.”
One woman interviewed in the investigation claimed Brand raped her against a wall at his home in Los Angeles. Medical records show that she received treatment at a rape crisis center the same day she said the attack happened, according to the Telegraph.
Another woman said Brand “forced his penis down her throat” when he was 31 and she was 16. At the time, she said she was involved in a three-month relationship with the actor she characterized as abusive and controlling.
Brand rose to mainstream fame in the early 2000s as a raunchy comedian who discussed his sex life in lewd detail. He later became known for his work as a left-wing activist and wellness influencer. Since 2020, he has come under fire for promoting conspiracy theories surrounding COVID-19 and other topics on his YouTube channel, which boasts more than 6 million subscribers. He has also become increasingly associated with right-wing figures and hosted ex-Fox News personality Tucker Carlson on his channel in July.
In his video addressing the sexual assault allegations, Brand suggested that he was the victim of a “coordinated attack” by the media.