British comedian and actor Russell Brand, winner of a Bafta and three British Comedy Awards, has been accused of raping and sexually assaulting four women (one of them when she was 16 years old) in a joint investigation by The Sunday Times and Channel 4, the television that launched him to fame.
Brand, 47, married for the second time and father of two children with Laura Gallacher (he was previously married to the singer Katy Perry) categorically denied “the litany of scandalous and aggressive attacks” launched against him and continued as if nothing had happened with their performance at a Wembley theater on Saturday night.
The news about the multiple accusations of sexual assault over a period of seven years, which coincided with his greatest successes on both sides of the Atlantic, however caused a great impact in the United Kingdom, where he is associated with the hard left wing. of the Labor Party.
The first accusation dates back to 2006, when Brand was 31 years old and his alleged victim was just 16. The woman, who has hidden her identity, told The Sunday Times how she became involved in “an emotionally abusive relationship” for three months with the comedian, who allegedly forced her to perform oral sex until she vomited and to systematically lie to her parents about the relationship when she was a minor.
The woman claims to have contacted Brand’s agency, Taviatock Wood, at that time to alert them about the behavior of the actor, who was accused of rape months later by a woman in Los Angeles at his own home. The second victim claimed to have gone to an assistance center for raped women that same day. She did not report him to the police, but she sent him a withering message: “When a girl says NO, it means no.”
A third woman alleged that she was sexually assaulted by Russell, also in Los Angeles, when she worked with him and attempted to kiss her and remove her clothes while she resisted by screaming and hitting him. The fourth incident occurred at a hotel in Manchester. The alleged victim claims that Brand behaved in an “emotionally and physically abusive” manner toward her.
The news has created a stir due to the enormous popularity of the comedian, who also worked for MTV, the BBC and the major Hollywood studios. British public television announced on Sunday the opening of an internal investigation into the accusations, which have resurrected the ghost of Jimmy Savile, the comedian accused (after his death) of dozens of child abuse.
