Russell Brand faces £1m loss as YouTube stops earnings while BBC launches probe
The BBC has begun a review of alleged sex predator Russell Brand ’s time at the corporation as he faces a £1million loss on YouTube.
Director general Tim Davie ordered the probe that will look at complaints against the star and how bosses responded. It comes after concerns were raised about what the BBC and C4 knew about the claims. Yesterday, YouTube stopped Brand, 48, making money from adverts on its site after four women made rape and sexual assault allegations against him.
The comic worked for BBC Radio between 2006 and 2008, and was a guest on other shows. Peter Johnston, director of editorial complaints, is to lead the review. An interim update may be released within weeks. The probe will cover claims by alleged victim, Alice, that Brand, then 30, sent a BBC car to take her from school to his house when she was 16.
The BBC has removed content featuring him from its iPlayer and Sounds platforms, which “now falls below public expectations”. These are thought to include an episode of QI and a Joe Wicks podcast. Mr Davie said: “I do think we’re in a different place, over 15 years. When I listened back, frankly, to some broadcasts I think, that is just completely unacceptable.”
Tim Davie (PA)Brand has been accused of rape, assault and emotional abuse between 2006 and 2013, when working for the BBC, Channel 4 and starring in films. It follows an investigation by The Times, Sunday Times and C4’s Dispatches, which aired on Saturday evening. Brand strongly denies the allegations, which include claims of controlling, abusive and predatory behaviour.
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Mr Davie told his staff the industry has faced issues with power imbalances between presenters and other employees. He added the BBC’s processes have changed, including its code of conduct and a harassment policy. Mr Davie said: “I do feel we’re in a different place, I’m proud of our culture, but to say that doesn’t mean there aren’t dangers.”
Yesterday, the Mirror and other newspapers reported more women have come forward with fresh claims about Brand. One woman, using the name Lisa, said the comic had sung about killer Ian Huntley during a consensual sexual encounter in 2008. A woman, Esme, told the Times that he was threatening and verbally abusive when she refused to have sex.
It emerged Brand’s last major TV job in the UK ended with him being dropped after he was repeatedly accused of being a sexual
predator. News website Deadline said the father-of-two was confronted by his fellow judge Katherine Ryan on Comedy Central’s Roast Battle in 2018.
YouTube said it has suspended the monetisation of Brand’s channel because he was allegedly violating its policies. Yesterday, it said: “If a creator’s off-platform behaviour harms our users, employees or ecosystem, we take action to protect the community.” Channel 4 has also launched an investigation into Brand’s career at the station.
He was accused of pursuing audience members for sex while presenting Big Brother spin-off shows EFourum and Big Brother’s Big Mouth. Another probe is being conducted by Banijay UK, which bought Endemol, the firm commissioned by Channel 4 to produce the Big Brother spin-off shows the star hosted.
Katherine Ryan (PR Handout - Free to use)Channel 4 chief Alex Mahon said the station has carried out extensive document searches. But it has so far found no evidence to suggest the alleged incidents about Brand were reported to management. She added: “We have asked the production company... to urgently and comprehensively investigate these allegations and report their findings properly and satisfactorily to us.”
In a letter to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, she said since the alleged incidents there is “a zero-tolerance approach to unacceptable behaviour”. It comes as shows on Brand’s Bipolarisation tour were postponed. He performed on Saturday after the claims. The Met Police said it had received a report of an alleged sexual assault in the wake of media allegations about him.
Meanwhile, actress Georgina Baillie, 38, the granddaughter of Fawlty Towers star Andrew Sachs, described the YouTube blow for Brand as cancel culture. But she added she finds some of the evidence against her ex as compelling. Baillie told to Sky News: “He never did anything like that with me, everything was more than consensual, I promise.”
In 2008, Brand and Jonathan Ross left lewd voicemails about her for Sachs, which led to Brand quitting Radio 2. But Baillie, who has also battled addictions, has forgiven Brand after he apologised. Brand’s YouTube account has 6.6 million subscribers. He still has a presence on video platform Rumble, where he denied the allegations. He also has a subscribers’ area on Locals for £48 a year.
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