So it is Russell Brand

[Gro]

The biggest news story of the year is about someone who has already written books about all the stuff he has done. I will be surprised if Dispatched can say one thing I didn't already know.

But I hate this whole smoke without fire thing. All I can ever remember is poor Joanna yeate's landlord. Do you remember the poor girl killed?

He was literally pulled to pieces in the paper for being a suspect. He was eccentric but it isn't a crime to be eccentric. He had very distinct hair and he had to get rid of it because he was getting abuse from everyone recognising him.

That was so shocking. Also the case of the fantasist Carl Beech aka ‘Nick’ who accused various Tory and military bigwigs of all manner of abuse and even murder.
I remember threads in here when the story first broke with posters queueing up to believe him with comments like ‘I always knew Leon Britain was dodgy as hell - I’m not surprised he’s a murderer’.

Why would anyone believe UK mainstream news media. When in October 2022 Europeans and Americans were being told that our late queen was dying of bone cancer, British news media even just days before her death, was telling us Brits that she had, wait for this, gout. This happens rather a lot. Until I purchased a VPN, one of the things I looked forward to about holidaying in the USA was that you would find out what was really happening in the UK. Events that UK newspapers choose not to cover due to their establishment and political alliances, or they are prevented from covering due to a court injunction you could read freely about. The number of US mainstream media websites that are blocked in the UK, by UK government sensors is shocking. If tonight's programme is about RB, remember it was Channel 4 who broadcast his TV shows.

Yes, Rishi Sunak going to resign about his part in Partygate, but Murdoch's crew persuading him not to. Media influence over politicians much more important.

It has made one newspaper, but will be buried under a comedian sex scandal.

Tbh Brand can protect himself and he can get an injunction if libelous etc. He can sue the hell out of Channel 4 if this is a lie.

True. So it’s either this or what, an arrest?

You're talking like you have insider knowledge. Fact is you have absolutely no idea what's been presented to the police so far.

But the sad truth is the police don't always do their job, so investigative journalism has to step in as per Savile. Yes @IClaudine

Good question. I found the video Brand posted very odd because he can sue.

Having worked with a few male celebrities (minor soap actors) in the far past I’ve been stunned at the amount of very young women who come up to them and offer them sex - even ones old enough to be their grandads.

Most celebs politely turn them down but they can be extremely sticky.

I think/hope it’s possible to discuss this without being anti women or anti feminist?

Fame is very attractive.

None of this excuses rape of course but I prefer to see rapists convicted after a fair trial and trial by media doesn’t fall into that category.

I'm not surprised this has happened at all, and can fully believe it of him.

Thought he was OK on Big Brother's Big Mouth, that used to followed every episode of Big Brother, and he seemed quite funny. Then I went off him when he got too big for his boots after appearing in a few films. (In the mid to late noughties.) Then he developed an 'I am KING' complex...

He makes my toes curl, and I have never 'got' what women see in him. He's so slimy and creepy, and reminds me of a reptile... And not in a good way. Women seemed to go crazy for him some years ago, but I never saw it,

Just want to point out after reading a lot of the comments that just because the police/cps don't charge someone with rape doesn't make it a false allegation.
I don't know how you deal with the fact that a lot of rapes happen inside a relationship meaning a lot of the time it's one person's word against someone else with little physical evidence and of course its awful for men if they are falsely accused of rape but false allegations are rare.. women being raped and no one being held to account happens all day everyday.

When in October 2022 Europeans and Americans were being told that our late queen was dying of bone cancer, British news media even just days before her death, was telling us Brits that she had, wait for this, gout. This happens rather a lot

British media respecting the medical privacy of the head of state and what she was dying of instead of telling the world. Shocking. Shouldn't be allowed. 🙄(sarcasm, in case anyone wonders).

And she might have had gout, for all you know.

I used to like him, found him very witty and articulate. I enjoyed his first book so much that I read it in two days. Thought he was reasonably honest about his issues and failings. I went off him a while back, the Andrew Sachs phone message with Jonathan Ross was perile and pathetic and after that I wasn't really interested in what he was up to. I was aware that he had all but disappeared from MSM and had a YouTube channel which I understand has an anti-vax and conspiracy theorist theme. As I have no time for that sort of stuff I have only seen about 5 minutes and he wasn't on my radar for ages. That he is getting a 90 minutes Saturday night Dispatches Special is rather mind boggling and leads me to think that there must be much more lurking under the surface given.

I'm guessing if you reread his books in the light of today they look very problematic; hence his wild eyed post today.

I seem to remember him talking about his promiscuity about a million years ago before he got married.On an old fashioned chat show...Not Wogan, but something like that....

Unbiased view then, you don't know him, have not meet him, yet quick to condem before any allegations are aired.

RB, so its supposedly about him on Dispatches tonight.
Have we learnt nothing about bullying people, Caroline Flack, PS, etc.
Whatever he has done wrong does not deserve this, certainly not at this point. I've never seen anything like the hype and I'm pretty old. It's scandalous...but the publicity/secrecy behind it is working wonderfully..
Jeez, Lucy Letby killed numerous babies and wasn't treated like this.
Hounded and hounded.

I hate trial by media. It completely undermines our justice system and how would a jury be able to made a decision when they’ve seen the hard-to-avoid media spin on the case.

My dh used to be a court reporter and there was a criminal who had a website outing peadophiles. Dh was in court covering a case of the guy (assault with a weapon) and the guy called across the court room to the press bench and threatened dh that if he reported and named him he’d add dh’s name to his website. Dh was 28 and terrified as the guy had done the same to other innocent people and locals had gone all vigilante. Police got involved and the website was shut down but since then, I always think there’s a process and court system that should be used not media with their own agenda.

Totally agree @goldennavy

I still don’t believe he is the focal point of a 90 minute dispatches story or he is pivotal to a serious news story, there must be someone much more high profile involved of which he may play a small part. I think the endless posts about his hygiene, behaviour and looks are not relevant and debating why people find him attractive, sure look at Trump and Johnson.
It all seems a bit weird as is people’s trust of the media and the drip feeding.

Everyone on here minimising it because "everyone knows he's a rapist" ffs that is sick! If there's lots of people saying he's raped them that is seriously horrendous

Me and a female relative were talking about this the other day, how both of us in our younger years were manipulated into having sex when we lacked the life awareness of what was really happening. I too look back and see things very differently now.

If he is being accused of things he is innocent of on national tv then this is slander and he ought to be able to get his lawyers to pull the programme surely?

It's one thing for investigative journalists to accuse businesses, corporations or governments of suspected wrong doing but quite another to put an individual out for slaughter without proper police investigation. These are journalists, not trained police detectives, after all.

If this is the biggest news story of the year, it's going to be a very dull autumn.