19 September 2023 , 17:48
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A clip of Russell Brand appearing on The View has resurfaced in light of the allegations of sexual assault and rape, which have been made against the comedian – which he strongly denies.
The comedian, who has been accused of rape, sexual assault and emotional abuse following a joint investigation with The Times, The Sunday Times and Channel 4's Dispatches. Brand, whose stand-up comedy tour Bipolarization was postponed on Monday following the accusations, has denied the claims in a video and insisted all his relationships had been 'consensual'.
Following the allegations, a clip of Brand's appearance on The View has resurfaced. The comedian-turned-actor joined the US talk show in 2009 to discuss his new movie and upcoming hosting gig on the MTV Video Music Awards. Speaking on The View over 14 years ago, the Get Him to the Greek star made a number of lewd remarks, including challenging host Sherri Shepherd’s celibacy and telling fellow panellist Joy Behar he'd have her ‘stripped’ of her tights.
A clip of Russell Brand's interview on The View has resurfaced in light of the allegations (ABC)The interview begins with Brand, now 48, being asked about his ‘raunchy sense of humour’ after he quips, “I wish I hadn’t worn such tight trousers” as he sits down on the iconic couch.
“One of my greatest accolades, Joy, is my Shagger of the Year award,” he says, referring to the prize he was awarded on three consecutive years by a tabloid magazine for his promiscuous reputation. The remark prompted the topic of his ‘sex addiction’ to arise, resulting in Brand quickly appearing defensive.
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“You’ll have me stripped of my title, I’ll have you stripped of your tights,” he told Joy Behar, prompting an outburst of laughter and applause from the studio audience. At another moment in the interview, Brand tells Sherri Shepherd she looks “nice” before making comments on her physical appearance and private life. “I like your legs,” he says while touching her calf. “I understand you’ve been celibate for a while, when are you gonna give that up?”
Brand continues to make seemingly sexually charged comments to Sherri, including: “I assure you this is an area in which I'm confident, I am not bluffing. I will take care of you, I will make you see multi-coloured, I’ll make you forget your own name, it'll be wonderful!“
Russell Brand challenged host Sherri Shepherd on her celibacy and felt her legs during the awkward interview, which caused her to laugh (ABC)“You’ve got all dressed up, you’ve got me worked up, now c’mon,” Brand says at another point of the televised conversation. He also confesses to feeling “a combination of relaxed and aroused“ in the “company“ of The View hosts. “Whatever gets you through the night,“ Joy says towards the end of the interview, to which Brand replies, “Well, Sherri tonight!“ At that point, Whoopi jumps in to make a reference to her Sister Act stardom, quipping, “Since you're making time with Sherri, have you ever had a sister?“
“Yeah! Loads!,“ Brand replied. “I live in London, our country's different, we're all at it! Loads and loads, since I was proper young, like 16!“ The interview concluded with Sherri, who thanked the comedian for joining before adding, “We love having you here, you have to come back.“
Russell Brand: In Plain Sight, which is an investigative collaboration between Dispatches and the Sunday Times into Russell Brand's treatment of women, is available to watch on Channel4.com. Responding to allegations on Friday, 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 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, often 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.