His management agency terminated its relationship with him, saying it was “horribly misled” by the performer, while his publisher announced that it will “pause” all future projects with him. The rest of his live theater performances in the UK have also been postponed, while a women’s charity he has worked with ended his association with him.
Before the investigations of the times and Sunday Times newspapers and Channel 4 was published, Brand published a video Friday, where he “absolutely” denied the “stunning” allegations. “As I’ve written a lot about in my books, I was very, very promiscuous,” Brand said. “Now in those days of promiscuity, the relationships I had were absolutely always consensual.”
Brand has more than 6.6 million subscribers to his YouTube channel and has posted more than 2,000 videos. It is not clear how much money he has made on the platform, but a social media analytics agency said the guardian his income could be thousands of dollars per video.
YouTube said it pulled Brand from its partner program — which gives creators greater access to YouTube resources and monetization features and allows revenue sharing from ads that appear on their content.
“If a creator’s behavior outside the platform harms our users, employees or ecosystem, we take action to protect the community,” the platform said in a statement. “Once a creator is suspended from the YouTube Partner Program, they are prohibited from using a new or alternative channel to circumvent our enforcement decision.”
Brand’s YouTube channel remains active, although he has not uploaded any new videos since Friday.
The allegations relate to a time when Brand had a particularly high profile in Britain and the US, hosting programs on the BBC and Channel 4 and appearing in films such as “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and “Rock of Ages”. Both public broadcasters have announced that they will investigate the allegations.
A woman alleged that Brand raped her in her Los Angeles home. Medical records show she was treated at a rape crisis center the same day, the Times reported. One woman who worked with Brand alleged he assaulted her at his home in West Hollywood, while another reported he assaulted her at a hotel in Manchester, UK, the Times added.
An unidentified woman said she was 16 when Brand abused her during a three-month relationship in Britain, where the legal age of consent is 16. The woman said she met Brand when he was 30 and that during that timehe sent a BBC chauffeur-driven car to pick her up from school and take her to his house.
London’s Metropolitan Police said the day after the Channel 4 investigation aired, it received a separate allegation of sexual assault on a woman dating back to 2003 in the city’s Soho neighbourhood.
“We first spoke to The Sunday Times on Saturday 16 September and have since reached out further to The Sunday Times and Channel 4 to ensure that anyone who believes they have been sexually assaulted is aware, how to report this to the police,” the statement read.
“We continue to encourage anyone who believes they may have been sexually assaulted, regardless of how long ago it was, to contact us.”
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s office said the allegations against Brand were “very serious and concerning” and urged people to come forward if they believe they are victims of sexual abuse.
“The Prime Minister has been clear that there should never be any place for harassment, wherever it exists,” the statement said.
Samantha Chery contributed to this report.
