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.

The woman can use whatever terminology she likes and I would absolutely support her in using whatever terminology she wants to describe the incident.

That doesn’t change the fact that what she has described amounts to an accusation of rape. She has accused him of forcing his penis into her mouth without her consent. The criminal offence that she has accused him of is rape, regardless of what terminology she uses to describe it.

This really interests me too. Maybe he pissed off the wrong person eventually.

But that doesn’t take in to account the cases that the CPS don’t consider there is enough evidence for rape. The figures could go either way if you were to look at actual reports/accusations of rape.

"Them"? Being who? If he's guilty they bloody should go after him.

They have been working on this for over three years

@Superfood what part of this article are you suggesting I've missed that means we should wait for a court to decide ?

Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence, as they say.

So sad to see women under the sway of rape culture.

@Takoneko I want you think about why you feel the need to keep re-categorising what the victim has said. And I want you to think about why it's important to use the words a victim chooses. And why a victim may not want to use certain words. And why a refusal to abide by the victim's wishes can actually be very traumatising to them. You may think the victim won't read your words but they might. Your words might be picked up in the media. And even if they aren't, you're inadvertently saying your right to use a certain word is more important than how upsetting that may be to the victim. Please don't reply to me again concerning this. Your bullishness will be triggering to some.

You wrote

I hope whatever it is is false

By saying "whatever it is", it's quite clear you haven't read the article.

Your follow up like so many claims shows your true agenda.

You're right, there will be cases that never reach prosecution. I believe I've heard an overall figure of closer to 2%, so still rare, but can't remember where from or which research. If I find it I'll post a link.

Drooling into a child's mouth and forcing her to swallow his saliva. Of all of the things in that article...that's just fucking deranged and all about control and getting off on the sheer imbalance of power.

I mean, he was obviously a cunt all along but still. In black and white it's nasty.

Islandsadness
A 16 yo gets raped and her rapist is the person you feel sorry for and worried about?

That is not what is being said. Why would a public trial be good for the 16 yo either? You think that girl is not being exploited by the media somehow and it’s in her best interest? Yes. The individual needs justice. But this is not the way to go about it. Penny dreadful headlines.

It's exactly what happened to her and what is being said.

Absolutely agree. He is vile. In every way.

Neither can the courts, if the police don’t record it, the CPS don’t prosecute and juries don’t find them guilty. Knowledge, so that other people aren’t trapped by these predators and the hope that others MIGHT, depending on their viewpoint, think less of them is about all these survivors have left at this point.

The whole process needs overhauling, perhaps judge only trials and a full judicial review providing a framework for the recording and prosecution of these crimes might help achieve actual justice for the victims within the criminal justice system, rather being so weighted towards giving the perpetrators benefit of the doubt.

Yes, but why Russell Brand in particular and not any of the other sleb men who have carried out, and perhaps still carry out, similar acts of sexual violence, and who are also "in plain sight". 🤔

Maybe they are just cleverer with their Non Disclosure Agreements?

"Research has shown that false allegations of rape are rare. A CPS report published in 2013 showed that over a 17-month period, there were 5,651 prosecutions for rape and, during the same period, there were 35 prosecutions for making false allegations of rape."

Perhaps I'm being a bit dense here, but doesn't that rely on the hope that all false allegations are discovered?
Surely there's no way to possibly know if all false allegations are actually found and reported to be false, surely some slip through the cracks??

That article is horrific. But sadly not surprising.

Russell Brand tried to deny it but I don't see why she would lie.

from the article

All said they felt ready to speak only after being approached by reporters. Several said they felt compelled to do so given Brand’s newfound prominence as an online wellness influencer, with millions of followers on YouTube and other sites

He isn’t a “wellness influencer”.

Over the past few years, reporters have interviewed hundreds of sources who knew or worked with Brand

Why? Aren’t there somewhat more pressing issues affecting the millions in this country?

There are some serious allegations in there - particularly regarding the 16 year old which need to be investigated. But frankly it reads exactly like a serious and extensive hit piece that someone would make up on someone who has said specific stuff that has seriously pissed off the wrong people. Plenty of public figures/celebs over recent decades have almost certainly got up to some absolutely horrible abusive stuff (convicted or otherwise), yet I’ve never read anything as graphic or detailed as this before in the mainstream press. So why him and why now?

@Angrymum22

Found what I was thinking of.

The evidence on false allegations fails to support public anxiety that untrue reporting is common. While the statistics on false allegations vary – and refer most often to rape and sexual assault – they are invariably and consistently low. Research for the Home Office suggests that only 4% of cases of sexual violence reported to the UK police are found or suspected to be false. Studies carried out in Europe and in the US indicate rates of between 2% and 6%.

https://www.open.ac.uk/research/news/false-accusations-sexual-violence

From 2018: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-45565684.amp
States between 2 and 10% for the USA. The FBI puts the figure at 8%.

And of course none of those figures take unreported rape and sexual assault into account. If all rape were reported the percentages would be lower.

I stand by my statement that false accusations of rape are rare.

But frankly it reads exactly like a serious and extensive hit piece that someone would make up on someone who has said specific stuff that has seriously pissed off the wrong people

So you think all the women are lying? None of them know each other. If it was all made up Brand would have a field day suing them.

The accusations are horrific. I feel sick reading them.

The Times and The Sunday Times gave Brand eight days within which to reply to detailed allegations, including information to enable him to recall the alleged incidents. Lawyers for Brand initially said that they were not in a position to provide any response to the allegations because we had posed a “large litany of questions” and had intentionally chosen to anonymise the names of the women.
[Brand] said that there are witnesses whose evidence directly contradicts the narratives.
The Sunday Times asked his lawyer for the evidence referred to but no answer was provided.

Main allegations:

2005 16 year old Alice. (RB 30 yrs old)
Forced deep-throating. Removal of condom.
(their relationship lasted 3 months)
Family member corroborates. Grooming in hindsight.
She contacted his book publishers 2020 for an apology.

2005/6 24 year old Runner Rachel.
Flashed at/sexual harassment on set.
(they had a relationship later)
Endemol no records.

2007 Jordan Martin.
Forced fingering.
(their relationship lasted 6 months)
She wrote a book about it in 2014.

2012 Nadia thirties. Raped without condom.
(they had slept together previously)
Medical report/text messages.
Decided against criminal/civil action.
She sent a letter to Brand later.

2013 Colleague Phoebe twenties. Attempted rape.
(they had had an earlier relationship)
Five people corroborate she told them of incident.

Plus toxic/naked/sexualised behaviour in general/across shows.

If Brand does have evidence to refute the above then he needs to provide it quickly.

Yes, but why Russell Brand in particular and not any of the other sleb men who have carried out, and perhaps still carry out, similar acts of sexual violence, and who are also "in plain sight"

Indeed. None of us can know whether any - or all - of the actions detailed in that article are true as reported. But I think you’d have to be pretty naive that this level of “attention” focused on someone who isn’t massively in the public eye and is not in a traditional position of authority is simply about “brave reporters” working for years tirelessly on a MeToo case. It could be that every word in that article is factual. But the whole presentation of the case looks very very odd.

You're saying the woman who went to the Rape Crisis centre in the USA on the day it happened, who had samples taken from her body, who has years of therapy records, who has text messages from him apologising for raping her, is lying?

Sick