Russell Brand postpones all tour dates as Met receives sexual assault allegations | Brasarr

The allegations leveled against Russell Brand are “one of the MeToo moments for TV”, the former Editor-at-Large of Channel 4 has said.

Dorothy Byrne told Channel 4 News: “Historically, there has been a culture in television where some men have to put up with appalling behavior because they are so-called stars.”

Dame Maria Miller MP, former Culture Secretary and Minister for Women, suggested non-disclosure agreements should be banned in the entertainment industry if they have been used to silence people over alleged incidents involving Russell Brand.

She told Sky News’ Politics Hub that the organizations involved had to provide “an explanation as to why they did not have practices in place for people who wanted to speak out”.

“I think they need to be held accountable for the way they treat their staff,” she said.

“I also want to dig more into some of the comments that were made over the weekend about people still not feeling able to speak out about these cases and in particular comments from both the BBC and also the talent agency which made me feel that maybe non-disclosure agreements had been used, potentially leading to people being silenced about things that are now clearly matters that could be criminal allegations.”

Asked whether the use of NDAs should be looked at, she replied: “We’ve seen not only in this case but in other cases where media organizations have routinely been … using industry standard non-disclosure clauses in contracts that they use when people are subject to illegal wrongdoing at work. I hope that’s not the case here, but if it is, I hope it gives impetus to the government to take action.”

She added: “There have been measures taken to stop the use of NDAs in universities and perhaps this case with Russell Brand, if confidentiality is involved, would indicate that we need to take the same measures for to ban their use across … the entertainment industry as well.”

Publisher Russell Brands announced it was putting all future book projects on hold with the comedian after sexual assault allegations were made against him.

Bluebird, an imprint of Pan Macmillan, has published Brand’s titles including Recovery: Freedom From Our Addictions and Mentors: How To Help And Be Helped in recent years.

In a statement to the PA news agency, the company said: “These are very serious allegations and in light of them, Bluebird has made the decision to cease all future publishing with the Russell Brand.”

An upcoming title, Recovery: The Workbook, by the 48-year-old actor and presenter was due to be published by Bluebird in December 2025, according to the company’s website.

“Why are they only talking about it now?” “Why didn’t they report it to the police?” “Did they bring it on themselves?” “Are they doing it for the money?” “Is this all just a plan to take down another successful man?”

It doesn’t matter if it’s the President of the United States, a stand-up comedian, or someone’s brother-in-law, when women speak out about alleged male violence, we hear the same, predictable responses.

Even before the allegations of sexual assault and rape had been shared by The Sunday Times, thousands took to social media to criticize the women as liars, attention seekers, fame hungry, mentally ill… even government plants.

Anything but telling the truth.

Shortly after the release of “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” Kristen Bell told interviewers that she had to “intimidate” her co-star Russell Brand to make sure he understood that she was not interested in a sexual relationship with him during the recordings.

Her memories of her time with the British actor and comedian have been deepened in the wake of allegations that he raped and sexually assaulted a number of women at the height of his fame.

A joint investigation by The Times, The Sunday Times and Channel 4 Dispatches highlighted the stories of four women – including one who was a minor at the time – who say Brand either raped or sexually assaulted them between 2006 and 2013. Brand has denied , that claims.

Katy Perry’s short-lived relationship with Russell Brand made a lot of headlines when the seemingly unlikely couple were first linked back in 2009 – and even more so when they broke up just 14 months after their wedding.

The British comedian, 48, has now been accused of rape, sexual assault and emotional abuse while at the height of his fame with four women. The claims were made in a joint investigation by The Sunday Times, The Times and Channel 4’s Dispatches.

Brand has vehemently denied all the “very serious allegations” against him, which date back to between 2006 and 2013, and has insisted his past relationships have been “absolutely always consensual”.

Perry, 38, has not addressed the allegations against her ex-husband. However, she has previously spoken about the circumstances surrounding her separation from Brand and previously revealed that he called time on their relationship via text message.

Katie Roseinsky reports:

Russell Brand offered to bring his personal assistant to meet Jimmy Savile naked in an apparent joke during an interview that has resurfaced following allegations against the actor.

Brand has been accused of rape, sexual assault and emotional abuse over a seven-year period at the height of his fame that was featured on our screens and airwaves.

On his flagship Radio 2 show in 2007, Brand called Savile and told him it would “be nice one day” to meet the Jim’ll Fix It host.

Chair of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Caroline Dinenage, said the group will be looking for the same “assurance” from the BBC that Channel 4 has given over the circumstances surrounding the allegations facing Russell Brand.

Ms Dinenage told the BBC’s PM program that the committee would investigate “who knew what and when and the extent to which any reports that happened at the time were investigated”.

She said: “What concerns me most has been the reaction across media and social media from the number of people saying ‘it’s shocking but not surprising’, talking about open secrets and how it was that people turned the blind eye to, and that’s what worries me, and I think that’s what my committee will look at.

“The extent to which any of these really powerful and influential TV talents are able to use that is leveraging that enormous power and influence to potentially harm other people’s lives and careers.”

Ms Dinenage said she would not “pre-empt” the work of the committee but said she expected it to write to “all the organizations concerned”.

“We have already heard from the chief executive of Channel 4 who has already set out very clearly what they have done, what they are doing and what they plan to do, which has been really helpful and shows the level of seriousness with which they take this situation.

“But we’re looking for the same kind of assurance from the BBC. But also as I say it’s not enough to look back, I think we also need to look forward and see what in particular the public service stations have in place now.”

A clip of late comedian Sean Lock discussing his disdain for Russell Brand has gone viral in the wake of criminal charges against the 48-year-old comedian.

Last weekend, Brand was the subject of an exposé in The Times, The Sunday Times and a Channel 4 Dispatches documentary featuring allegations of rape, sexual assault and emotional abuse by four women.

The alleged crimes took place between 2006 and 2013. Brand has denied all allegations.

The clip in question was taken from Channel 4 comedy panel show 8 Out of 10 Cats and was originally broadcast in November 2014. In the footage, Lock says he “hates” Brand because of his role as a father and “fears” his daughters would ” bring one like that home”.