Investigations launched after ‘serious’ allegations made against Russell Brand | EUROtoday

Channel 4 and manufacturing firm Banijay UK have launched separate inside investigations into allegations of great misconduct against Russell Brand, whereas the BBC mentioned it’s “urgently looking into the issues raised”.

The comic has been accused of pursuing viewers members for intercourse whereas presenting Big Brother spin-off exhibits EFourum and Big Brother’s Big Mouth on Channel 4, whereas different allegations relate to when he was a radio presenter for the BBC.

The claims have been made in a joint investigation by The Sunday Times, The Times and Channel 4 Dispatches, through which 4 ladies make separate allegations of sexual assault.

Brand has denied the allegations.

A researcher claimed considerations about Brand’s behaviour have been reported to manufacturing managers at Endemol, the corporate commissioned by Channel 4 to provide the programmes in 2004 and 2005, however have been dismissed.

On Sunday, Channel 4 introduced it’s conducting its personal inside investigation following the allegations made about Brand.

In a press release, the broadcaster mentioned: “We have asked the production company who produced the programmes for Channel 4 to investigate these allegations and report their findings properly and satisfactorily to us.

“Channel 4 is also conducting its own internal investigation, and we would encourage anyone who is aware of such behaviour to contact us directly.”

The assertion added: “We will be writing to all our current suppliers reminding them of their responsibilities under our Code of Conduct, as we are committed to ensuring our industry has safe, inclusive and professional working environments.”

Meanwhile a press release from Banijay UK, which purchased Endemol in 2020, mentioned: “In light of the very serious allegations raised by Dispatches and The Times/Sunday Times investigation relating to the alleged serious misconduct of Russell Brand while presenting shows produced by Endemol in 2004 and 2005, Banijay UK has launched an urgent internal investigation and will co-operate with any requests for information from broadcast partners and external agencies.

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“We also encourage anybody who feels that they were affected by Brand’s behaviour while working on these productions to contact us in confidence.”

The BBC additionally mentioned it’s “urgently looking into the issues raised” whereas Brand labored on BBC radio programmes between 2006 and 2008, having first appeared on BBC 6 Music in April 2006 earlier than he was moved to Radio 2 that November.

The Metropolitan Police mentioned it’ll converse to The Sunday Times and Channel 4 to make sure “any victims of crime who they have spoken with are aware of how they may report any criminal allegations to police”.

A spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) informed the PA information company that they don’t have an open investigation into Brand, and one other confirmed there had been no arrests following two allegations which are mentioned to have occurred within the US.

Brand, 48, was additionally accused of rape, sexual assault and emotional abuse between 2006 and 2013, when he was working for the BBC and Channel 4 and starring in Hollywood movies.

The actor and comic vehemently denies the allegations and, in a video posted on-line, mentioned all of his relationships have been “consensual”, earlier than accusing the media of a “co-ordinated attack”.

Following the allegations, which have been aired throughout a Channel 4 Dispatches particular titled Russell Brand: In Plain Sight, the Trevi ladies and kids’s charity within the UK introduced it had ended its affiliation with Brand and his charity, the Stay Free Foundation.

An announcement on Instagram mentioned: “Russell became aware of our charity in 2022 after hearing about some of the incredible mothers we have helped to become drug-free over the years.

“He wanted to support our cause and raise money through his Stay Free Foundation.”

The charity mentioned it had been “deeply saddened and upset” following the allegations against Brand, including: “We have ended our association with Russell Brand and the Stay Free Foundation.”

On Brand’s web site, the Stay Free Foundation is described as a charitable organisation that focuses on “supporting people through recovery from addiction, their mental health issues and the non-profit organisations that help them”.

It says it makes “regular donations” to remedy centres comparable to Friendly House in Los Angeles and BAC O’Connor within the UK, whereas additionally supporting the Trevi charity and the Treasures Foundation, “who are the only residential rehabilitation centre in the UK exclusively for mothers and their children”.

An announcement from the Treasures Foundation to the PA information company mentioned: “At Treasures Foundation we only know Russell Brand in the capacity of him wanting to make amends and give back to women, hence the desire of his to give to our charity.

“We are part of a programme that practises forgiveness and making amends. Many of us have been through sexual trauma and some of us have been perpetrators.”

It added: “We can’t make an opinion on what has come out right now. We just know him for the good that he does now.”

Brand was rehabilitated from heroin habit in 2003 and has since launched his half private memoir and half self-help information titled Recovery: Freedom From Our Addictions, in addition to arrange his Community competition, which sees all of the income donated to the Stay Free Foundation.

The allegations made against Brand embrace one girl who claims she was sexually assaulted throughout a three-month relationship with him when she was 16 and nonetheless at college.

The girl described his behaviour in direction of her as “grooming”, as he would allegedly present her with scripts on how one can deceive her dad and mom into permitting her to go to him.

In 2020, the girl contacted Brand’s literary agent on the time, who was additionally the co-founder of expertise company Tavistock Wood.

An announcement given to the PA information company by Tavistock Wood mentioned: “Russell Brand categorically and vehemently denied the allegation made in 2020, but we now believe we were horribly misled by him. TW has terminated all professional ties to Brand.”

Another girl alleges that Brand raped her at his Los Angeles residence, and a 3rd claims that Brand sexually assaulted her whereas she labored with him in Los Angeles, and threatened to take authorized motion if she informed anybody of the allegation.

A fourth girl claims she was sexually assaulted by Brand and alleges that he was bodily and emotionally abusive in direction of her.

The allegations have been made in a 90-minute Channel 4 Dispatches movie, through which different ladies described their experiences working with Brand on TV units, together with his former private assistant Helen Berger, who known as him a “narcissist”.

As the movie aired, Brand appeared as scheduled on the 2,000-capacity Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre in north-west London to carry out a sold-out comedy gig.

While in a roundabout way addressing the allegations, viewers members informed the PA information company that Brand mentioned he hoped they might “appreciate” there have been issues he couldn’t discuss in the course of the set.

In a video assertion posted on-line forward of the publication of the claims, Brand mentioned he was going through a “litany of extremely egregious and aggressive attacks”.

He continued: “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.

“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?”

On Sunday Foreign Secretary James Cleverly prompt there are wider questions for the leisure business to reply.

While he didn’t remark particularly on the allegations, he informed BBC One’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg: “I think there are some real challenges where you have these very, very acute differentials in power, whether that be in the entertainment industry, whether that be in politics and we see this in the commercial world as well.

“I think we have to be particularly careful when we listen to the voices of the people who are relatively powerless, because we, I think, collectively have missed opportunities to do the right thing and intervene much, much earlier, and we’ve got to be better at this.”

It comes after Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee chairwoman Dame Caroline Dinenage mentioned MPs could be “closely monitoring” the response to the allegations against Brand.

In the wake of the MeToo motion, Brand beforehand mentioned he had no regrets about his earlier sexual behaviour, claiming to have had intimate relationships with tons of of ladies prior to now.

Brand was married to US pop star Katy Perry from 2010 to 2012, and is now married to Laura Gallacher, the sister of presenter Kirsty Gallacher, they usually have two youngsters, Mabel and Peggy, with a 3rd on the way in which.

In current years Brand has seemingly turn out to be a outstanding conspiracy theorist, utilizing his YouTube channel with thousands and thousands of followers to cowl topical information tales, together with alleged misinformation surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic and being an outspoken sceptic of the vaccine.

His new dwell comedy present, Russell Brand Bipolarisation, has three dates left in September.