| Russell Brand | ||||||||||
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.jpg) Brand in 2011 | ||||||||||
| Birth name | Russell Edward Brand[1] | |||||||||
| Born | 4 June 1975[2] Grays, Essex, England | |||||||||
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| Years active | 1994–present | |||||||||
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| Children | 3 | |||||||||
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| Website | russellbrand | |||||||||
YouTube information | ||||||||||
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| Years active | 2006–present | |||||||||
| Genre(s) | Talk, politics | |||||||||
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Last updated: 22 July 2023 | ||||||||||
Russell Edward Brand (born 4 June 1975) is an English podcaster and media personality. He established himself as a standup comedian and radio host before becoming a film actor. After beginning his career as a comedian and later becoming an MTV presenter in the UK, in 2004 Brand gained a role as the host of the television show Big Brother's Big Mouth, a Big Brother spin-off. He had his first major film role in British comedy St Trinian's (2007) before starring in the Hollywood comedies Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008), Get Him to the Greek (2010), Arthur (2011), and Rock of Ages (2012). He has released several stand-up specials including Scandalous (2009), Messiah Complex (2013), and Brandemic (2023). He hosted his own radio show The Russell Brand Show (2006–2008, 2010, 2013, 2017) and also hosts the podcasts Stay Free with Russell Brand and Under the Skin with Russell Brand. He has received three British Comedy Awards and a nomination for a BAFTA Award. Over the course of his career, Brand has been the subject of frequent media coverage for issues such as his promiscuity, drug use, political views, provocative behaviour at various award ceremonies, his dismissal from MTV, and his resignation from the BBC amid a prank call controversy.
Since guest-editing an edition of British political weekly New Statesman in 2013,[4] Brand has become known as a public activist and campaigner, and has spoken on a wide range of political and cultural issues, including wealth inequality, addiction, corporate capitalism, climate change, and media bias.[5][6] In 2014, he launched his political-comedy web series The Trews on YouTube, released a book entitled Revolution, and acted in the documentary The Emperor's New Clothes. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Brand's YouTube channel underwent an increase in activity and change in political direction, and was accused of promoting COVID denialism and conspiracy theories.[7]
In September 2023, following a joint investigation by The Times, The Sunday Times and Channel 4's documentary series Dispatches, five women publicly accused Brand of sexual assault and sexual and emotional abuse.[8] The allegations concern incidents between 2006 and 2013 and were featured in the episode Russell Brand: In Plain Sight. Following the allegations, a further report of an alleged sexual assault was made against him to the Metropolitan Police, dating from 2003.[9] Brand has denied all of the allegations[10] and promoted conspiracy theories regarding them.[11][12][13]
- ^ Barratt, Nick (24 March 2007). "Family Detective: Russell Brand". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 23 December 2012. Retrieved 24 March 2007.
- ^ "Monitor". Entertainment Weekly. No. 1209/1210. 1 June 2012. p. 35.
- ^ a b c d "Lex Fridman's YouTube Stats (Summary Profile) - Social Blade Stats". SocialBlade.com. Archived from the original on 14 June 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
- ^ Editorial (25 October 2013). "In this week's New Statesman: Russell Brand guest edit". New Statesman. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 5 September 2014.
- ^ Brand, Russell (5 November 2013). "Russell Brand: we deserve more from our democratic system". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
- ^ "Russell Brand interview: "Capitalism is causing more suffering than Isis"". Big Issue. Archived from the original on 26 February 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
conspiracy theorieswas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Russell Brand's management agency terminates ties to him following sexual assault allegations". NBC News. 17 September 2023. Archived from the original on 17 September 2023. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
- ^ "Russell Brand accused of sexual assault by four women". BBC News. 16 September 2023. Archived from the original on 16 September 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
- ^ McIntosh, Steven (17 September 2023). "Russell Brand accused of rape and sexual assault". BBC News. Archived from the original on 16 September 2023. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
- ^ Murray, Jessica (17 September 2023). "Conspiracy theories swirl around Russell Brand allegations". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 31 March 2024.
- ^ Badshah, Nadeem (22 September 2023). "Russell Brand posts new video claiming government wants to censor him". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 23 September 2023.
- ^ Tenbarge, Kat (19 September 2023). "Conspiracy theories about Russell Brand sexual assault allegations go viral with help from Musk". NBC News. Archived from the original on 8 February 2024.