RUSSELL BRAND HAS thanked his supporters for “questioning” the allegations of rape and sexual assault made against him.
The 48-year-old has strongly denied accusations made by four women in an investigation by The Sunday Times, The Times and Channel 4’s Dispatches.
In the three-minute clip, posted on YouTube, Rumble and X, Brand said the week since the claims were published had been “extraordinary and distressing”.
He said: “I thank you very much for your support and for questioning the information that you’ve been presented with.”
He did not directly address the claims made against him, and lashed out at the Government, big tech companies and media organisations.
He claimed moves to prevent him making advertising revenue from his content on social media platforms came “in the context of the Online Safety Bill”, which aims to tackle harmful content on the internet.
The Bill, which was years in the drafting, recently cleared Parliament and awaits royal assent to pass into law.
In the video, in which he addressed his followers as “awakening wonders”, he said: “By now you’re probably aware that the British Government have asked big tech platforms to censor our online content and that some online platforms have complied with that request.
“What you may not know is that this happens in the context of the Online Safety Bill, which is a piece of UK legislation that grants sweeping surveillance and censorship powers, and it’s a law that has already been passed.”
Meanwhile, multiple companies that have employed Brand have launched investigations into his conduct while working with them.
The BBC is investigating a claim that Russell Brand flashed a woman before laughing about it on his radio show.
Channel 4 chief executive Alex Mahon has said the Russell Brand allegations show that “terrible behaviour” towards women has been “historically tolerated” in the industry.
Mahon added that Channel 4 has invited anyone that knew about Brand’s alleged behaviour to come to the channel directly, or anonymously through a process it has set out since the revealations emerged.
“They are not empty words or gestures from all of us, they are what is meant by our duty of care.
“We will seek to find out who knew, who was told what and what was or wasn’t referred up,” Mahon said.
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