19 September 2023 , 13:15
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Russell Brand has stepped back from two of his businesses today following allegations - which he vehemently denies - emerging over the weekend.
It's claimed Brand suddenly left two of his business interests One Arm Bandit and Mayfair Film Partnership Limited today, as YouTube announced it has suspended the monetisation of Brand’s channel for "violating our Creator Responsibility policy". Brand's remaining tour dates were postponed yesterday and a fifth woman claiming to have been sexually assaulted by the comedian.
Brand was accused of rape, sexual assault and emotional abuse by four women in the Dispatches documentary, which aired on Saturday at 9pm. Not all four anonymous women in the programme accused Brand of rape. The incidents are said to have taken place between 2006 and 2013. However, Brand shared a video statement on his YouTube channel before the programme, vehemently denying "criminal and very serious" allegations he said had been put to him by two media outlets, describing it as a "coordinated attack".
Companies House notes today [September 19] Brand has resigned from his role as director of One Arm Bandits. He was appointed as director on 12 December 2007. Brand's former manager John Noel remains active as a director. Companies House also recorded Brand as resigning today as director of MayFair Film Partnership Limited, after first being appointed in the role in 2010.
Russell Brand leaving Wembley Park theatre in north-west London after performing a comedy set on Saturday (PA)Following Dispatches airing over the weekend, Brand's tour has been postponed and both the BBC and Channel 4 have removed content featuring the former Hollywood actor from their respective streaming platforms. The Metropolitan Police on Monday released a new statement following release of the Sunday Times story and Dispatches programme, stating they have now received a report of a sexual assault, which is alleged to have happened in London 20 years ago. Officers confirmed they are in contact with the woman.
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Speaking to his social media followers via a video also shared on YouTube ahead of Dispatches airing on Saturday, Brand said: "I’ve received two extremely disturbing letters, or a letter, and an email, one from a mainstream media TV company, one from a newspaper, listing a litany of extremely egregious and aggressive attacks, as well as some pretty stupid stuff like, my community festival should be stopped, that I shouldn’t be able to attack mainstream media narratives on this channel, but amidst this litany of astonishing, rather baroque attacks are some very serious allegations that I absolutely refute.
"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’ve 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’m being transparent about it now as well, and to see that transparency metastasized into something criminal, that I absolutely deny, makes me question, is there another agenda at play?"
* If you've been the victim of sexual assault, you can access help and resources via www.rapecrisis.org.uk or calling the national telephone helpline on 0808 802 9999