“Comedian” and conspiracy theorist Russell Brand has been accused of rape and abuse by multiple women, according to an extensively reported story in the Times (UK).
Somehow this doesn’t come as much of a surprise.
Here’s a summary of the charges as reported in the story:
The comedian and actor Russell Brand has been accused of rape, sexual assaults and emotional abuse during a seven-year period at the height of his fame.
Four women have alleged sexual assaults between 2006 and 2013, while he was a presenter for BBC Radio 2 and Channel 4 and then an actor in Hollywood films. Others have made a range of accusations about Brand’s controlling, abusive and predatory behaviour.
Brand denied the allegations and said his relationships have all been consensual.
The findings come from a joint investigation by The Sunday Times, The Times and Channel 4 Dispatches.
Some of the details:
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, according to medical records. Text messages show that in the hours after leaving his house, she told Brand that she had been scared by him and felt taken advantage of, adding: “When a girl say[s] NO it means no.” Brand replied saying he was “very sorry”.
A second woman alleges that Brand assaulted her when he was 31 and she was 16 and still at school. She said he referred to her as “the child” during an emotionally abusive and controlling relationship that lasted for about three months, and that Brand once “forced his penis down her throat”, making her choke. She says she tried to push him off and said she had to punch him in the stomach to make him stop.
A third woman claims that he sexually assaulted her while she worked with him in Los Angeles, and that he threatened to take legal action if she told anyone else about her allegation.
The fourth described being sexually assaulted by Brand and him being physically and emotionally abusive towards her.
The story paints a picture of an absolute monster of a sexual predator, sordid detail after sordid detail.
So here’s an open thread to discuss these allegations (or whatever else you want to talk about).
Fucking hell, how did he get away with it for so long?
edit: Money, power and abusive behaviour. I should know better by now.
At this point, all the comedians I really like are rapists. It’s sad. They made rooms full of people laugh and thought they could do whatever and hell they wanted. I’m still upset about Bill Cosby. My Mom and I used to listen to his record albums … and laugh. I thought Louis CK was a genius. Now they’ve taken the laughter away.
A lot of support from the bbc too. Protected by so many people.
“The child”. Just…wow. There is no defense.
I’d boosted a post on mastodon published the morning this came out, on his weird political turn to the right, and new show on rumble.
The Times’ article was published 5 hours later, and I think they broke the rape story.
Andrew Tate and Elon Musk are of course expressing support for him.
Was this asshat in any show or movie I might have seen?
Has the catch and kill game been played for him too? When will there finally be a tabloid going after rapist instead of cheering them on?
Would anyone be shocked to learn that terfs are defending him on Twitter? Probably not :/
And all the cockroaches have scuttled out to defend him.
https://twitter.com/bobfrombrockley/status/1703191546516869326
So many people use the belief in personal freedom as an excuse to commit terrible behavior.
@milotha:
So many people use the belief in personal freedom as an excuse to commit terrible behavior.
Here’s a question to consider: how much more Great Art™ might the world have had from…let’s see…Maria Schneider? Tippi Hedren? Shelley Duvall? Brendon Fraser? Björn Andrésen? Uma Thurman? Feel free to expand the list.
Why does this not surprise me ?
That is very gross. And so it this: Jann Wenner of Rolling Stone criticized for remarks on female, Black rockers : NPR
What a gross weekend.
This is definitely my unsurprised face.
@grumpycatisagirl (yes, she was!): This continues my unsurprised face as well.
@full metal ox:
Rebecca Schaeffer.
Not exactly the same thing, but definitely in the ballpark with how people didn’t take stalkers seriously and excused their behaviour.
@grumpycatisagirl:
I seem to recall that Patti Smith wrote a whole book about her coming of age as a poet and musician?
(As well as her romantic relationship with, and eventual friendzoning by, Robert Mapplethorpe—but the two remained friends and collaborators until Mapplethorpe’s death.)
Update: Wenner has just been booted out of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s Board of Directors:
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/rolling-stone-co-founder-jann-wenner-removed-rock-roll-hall-fame-board-2023-09-17/
Also, what does Russell Brand mean that the allegations against him are “baroque”?
@grumpycatisagirl:
”Women and black people aren’t articulate enough.” Translation: “My smug impenetrable brain melts down anything a woman or a black person has to say into wock wock wock.”
@FM Ox: B’zackly. Irrelevant old white man says what?
Also, what does Russell Brand mean that the allegations against him are “baroque”?
@grumpycatisagirl: One of the less commonly used definitions of baroque is “anything extravagantly ornamented, especially something so ornate as to be in bad taste” (I wasn’t sure how to describe it, so I copy-pasted it from Dictionary.com). A guess on my part, it’s possible he meant that all the details which make it sound like he did bad things are unnecessary and inflammatory, and what really matters is that he doesn’t feel like he raped anyone, so he didn’t.
Here’s a quote from his Autobiography
Trigger Warning
“I lied and danced and evoked the spirit of Pan till reluctantly she removed her bra, I used tears and emotional blackmail to secure the immolation of her knickers.”
He’s so clearly an abuser
One of the victims interviewed in the documentary texted him “When a girl say[s] NO it means no.” and he responds by apologising
Yet people defend him?
I wish I could be surprised, but the Sachs thing proved to us years ago that he doesn’t respect boundaries.