21 September 2023 , 02:36
868
0
Katherine Ryan has broken her silence on Russell Brand following sexual assault allegations being made against him.
Canadian comedienne and writer Katherine, 40, broke her silence on Wednesday evening at the RTS Cambridge, where she joked about the "elephant in the room," the MailOnline reported.
She reportedly later insisted her "elephant in the room" remark was in reference to her recent two-stone weight loss, as she avoided any references to Brand, 48, who has been accused of rape, sexual assaults and emotional abuse - which he vehemently denies.
Katherine's appearance comes after reports suggested she appeared to imply Brand was a "sexual predator" in a Louis Theroux documentary. Brand worked alongside Katherine as a judge for just one season of Comedy Central's Roast Battle in 2018, after reportedly being left angry when Katherine allegedly roasted him on camera.
During filming of the programme, Ryan is said to have made allegations against Brand, which never made the final edit of the show. Ryan allegedly said to the Get Him To The Greek star that comedians in the industry were talking about Brand's alleged sexual and predatory behaviour.
Katherine Ryan shares moment she locked herself out house with her baby inside
Katherine Ryan made a joke about the 'elephant in the room' (Getty Images)
Russell Brand has vehemently denied all allegations made against him (Getty Images)Deadline reported Brand was "absolutely furious" after being "targeted" by Ryan on the show. Katherine has previously shared she confronted an unnamed male comedian, who she dubbed a "sexual predator", during a November 2022 documentary with Louis Theroux.
The clip has resurfaced in the wake of Channel 4's Dispatches documentary, which was made in conjunction with The Times and The Sunday Times.
Ryan never named the "unmentionable British personality" for legal reasons. She did however claim it was an "open secret" amongst people working in the industry.
She shared that she was not a victim of sexual assault herself, saying it "was not my story to tell" but that she believed the accusations from sources she deemed were "very credible".
Ryan also stated that while she did not inform the employer of his alleged behaviour, she told the man repeatedly during filming for a television programme, but the clip was cut from the final edit. She never disclosed the identity of the "unmentionable British personality" but reports now imply it was Brand.
Katherine Ryan and Russell Brand worked alongside each other (Comedy Central)Brand responded to the allegations on Friday, ahead of the Dispatches documentary airing, in a video on his YouTube channel. He 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."
He continued: "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 metastasised into something criminal that I absolutely deny makes me question, is there another agenda at play?"