Mon 18 September 2023:
The BBC said on Sunday that it was “urgently looking into the issues” raised by sexual assault allegations made against the broadcaster’s former employee, British comedian and actor Russell Brand, who rejects the allegations, Reuters reported.
Brand, the ex-husband of American singer Katy Perry, worked on BBC radio shows between 2006 and 2008.
A BBC spokesperson said in a statement: “The documentary and associated reports contained serious allegations, spanning a number of years. Russell Brand worked on BBC radio programmes between 2006 and 2008 and we are urgently looking into the issues raised.”
British actor and comedian Russell Brand has said that he “absolutely refutes” allegations made by four women after being accused of rape, sexual assaults and emotional abuse, in an article published by The Times on Saturday. One of the quartet was aged 16 at the time of the alleged offenses.
The allegations, which the newspaper said were compiled following an investigation by The Times, The Sunday Times, and broadcaster Channel 4, detail a range of claims made against the 48-year-old related to incidents that allegedly occurred between 2006 and 2013.
One woman claims she was raped by Brand at his Los Angeles home on an unspecified date. She was treated at a rape crisis center, the Times said, citing medical records. A text message exchange seen by the newspaper shows the woman telling Brand: “When a girl say[s] NO it means no.” Brand texted in response that he was “very sorry.”
Among the other allegations, a woman claims that she was involved in an abusive relationship with Brand when he was 31 and she was 16, during which he repeatedly referred to her as “the child.” On one occasion, the woman said that Brand once “forced his penis down her throat” and that he only stopped when she punched him in the stomach.
“I absolutely deny”
On Friday, in advance of the publication of the allegations, Brand posted a video to YouTube and his various social media accounts to deny what he called a “litany of extremely egregious and aggressive attacks” against him, which he said were being made against him by a “mainstream media TV company” and a newspaper.
This is happening pic.twitter.com/N8zIKLbJN2
— Russell Brand (@rustyrockets) September 15, 2023
“The relationships I had were absolutely always consensual,” Brand said, addressing a period in his life in which he said he was “very, very promiscuous” and that he has always been transparent about his past. “To see that transparency metastasized into something criminal, which I absolutely deny, makes me question: is there another agenda at play?”
Meanwhile, London’s Metropolitan Police said it had not received any reports in relation to the allegations.
“If anyone believes they have been the victim of a sexual assault, no matter how long ago it happened, we would encourage them to contact the police,” the police said in a statement.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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