Biggest news story: Part 3

[Mimmy352]

Right so it’s being described as Baroque because whoever is writing it is from the 18th century and can’t figure out how to upload the story

@WinterDeWinter I met a young woman in the early 2000s as part of my work, Savile licked all the way up her bare arm (she was wearing a short sleeve shirt as part of her uniform, and he pretended to kiss her hand first) in front of all her colleagues and the public at a work event he was officially opening, and of course everyone just pretended not to notice.

PamelaAndreaGryglaszewska · Today 20:55

Was it like that look he gave Bob Geldof, when he called him a cunt at those NME awards? That was pure hatred/ narcissistic wounding.

Gosh I saw that video and thought the look he gave Geldof was so shocking, narcissistic wounding, explains his reaction perfectly.

JFC that’s absolutely spine chilling @Ereshkigalangcleg.

it could be either one of them couldn’t it? Same ‘stop me if you can’ MO.

As an aside, to speculate on where the PDs began, in one of the RB profiles I read today it mentions that his father, whose approval RB craved, took him to Bangkok where he hired prostitutes for the two of them. Russell had sex with one while his father had sex with two more, in the same room at the same time.

JFC that’s absolutely spine chilling @Ereshkigalangcleg.

it could be either one of them couldn’t it? Same ‘stop me if you can’ MO.

YY, exactly.

My stomach is in knots reading your description. In the video I was talking about in an earlier post, when he talked about abusing his animals, he described himself as a Jekyll and Hyde character. I think he revels in his own danger, but like it's another person, not himself, from whom he can disassociate, iyswim?

In the passage from his book, basically this dog (which he was disappointed about, because his mum got him a rescue, not the dog breed he wanted) was forbidden from going upstairs. RB would stand on the landing, enticing the dog upstairs with loving words and behaviour. She would go up the stairs, but once at the top, he says she would get "Mr Hyde", he would stop being loving and start telling her off for coming upstairs, and he would actually kick her back downstairs. He would then go downstairs and start giving her a sympathetic cuddle and say, "Oh Christ, you seem to be kicked down the stairs, that's terrible." He laughs about it, about the dog not knowing if she would get Jekyll or Hyde. This is when he was 7/8 years old. That book is from 2007. He was showing everyone who he is, and who he has always been, all the way back then.

Fucking hell. I’m lost for words.

That's psychopathic behaviour.

Jesus. That’s shocking.

The stuff he admits to is horrendous by itself. Besides just being totally abhorrent, isn’t animal abuse both illegal and a recognised indicator of likely future violence / abuse?

Yes. Starting as a child.

@WinterDeWinter As an aside, to speculate on where the PDs began, in one of the RB profiles I read today it mentions that his father, whose approval RB craved, took him to Bangkok where he hired prostitutes for the two of them. Russell had sex with one while his father had sex with two more, in the same room at the same time.

I read that article, can’t remember where it was but it also mentioned that his dad let him watch porn from aged 9/10!!!

Apparently more women have come forward. Also he's been dropped by a domestic abuse charity who were inexplicably involved in his current tour.

Which I have to say I'm a somewhat about. Even without the current allegations he's not a patron I would have sought as a DV charity.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/9e8dcffc-5562-11ee-9ad7-7384b2f230c5?shareToken=6b25bbbc81ba6aba8840f7dbecaf9686

@OvaHere he apparently raises money for a few women’s charities. A bit like Saville with all his charity work. All in plain site.

Of course he does! I should have guessed that.

That charity supports women recovering from addiction and he fund raised for them. I don’t think it was an “inexplicable” alliance given his history of addiction. Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

Maybe then if that's the case. The Times described them as 'a leading domestic abuse charity'.

The Geldof bit and the PA who could only get his attention with a photo of his own face indicated quite a lot of massive red flags to me. Didn't know that animal stuff, even more massive red flags there as many stories of children who grew up to be serial killers demonstrate; so many jigsaw parts. So many elements of Saville tbh.

Even though it seems that Geldof was calling Brand a cunt for reasons unconnected with the substance of the documentary, I can't help envying/admiring him for being the one shining moment in the programme when someone contemporaneous with the appalling events was naming Brand for what he was. A tiny bit of a joyful relief in the grimmest of programmes.

I have never understood his appeal (he always seemed to be a bit of a low rent copy of Johnny Depp - another sleazy one whose appeal I don't get, although at least he is a good actor). He seems to have laid himself out in My Booky Wook, which makes it a mystery why he wasn't flagged as a psycho at the time, and how he's turned into this benevolent and "beloved" character. It's especially difficult to understand how this has happened amongst animal loving Brits. The Channel 4/Big Brother PR machine clearly worked very well for him; and the mysterious attraction people have for a cheeky "bad boy" type persona, who has enough superficial charm to fall just short of downright nasty* (at least publicly) also has to be a factor.

(*I guess fans of "edgy" types have different standards of what is nasty too, since a lot of what he has done publicly is demonstrably nasty to many, and naughty but harmless fun for others).

I went on Amazon to see if anyone else had picked up on the animal cruelty, which is a huge red flag in children. Most of the reviews are from fans who think he is wonderful and hilarious and has conquered adversity. However, on US Amazon, someone wrote this review, which I thought was insightful:

The most telling moment of the book comes when Russell Brand picks up the phrase "to my shame," realizing that if he says it when discussing bad things he's done, it will make him sound repentant and will deter criticism from others. This is a more-or-less chronological account of someone's selfish, self-destructive, and callous progress through life. Russell Brand describes how he's used people, hurt people and animals, and used drugs/alcohol. From time to time he tosses around some version of "to my shame," though there's no sign that he's actually grown or changed at all from his experiences. He's an addict with a wide mean streak who went into rehab because his using was interfering with his career. That's it. You probably know a dozen jerks right now who can smirk and list the awful things they've done. They've probably picked up some version of "to my shame," and they will use it just as sincerely as this guy does. You don't need to read this booky wook to get the effect.

Just watched the dispatches show on catch up. Even without the sexual abuse he is vile, I have never liked him and I don’t find his childish humour funny. It is chilling though that he joked about some of the things he did, and that people laughed.

I just hope that there is a proper criminal investigation and that he is brought to justice. I fear he won’t be though as the trial by media might effect his right to a fair trial.

I vaguely remember him presenting a BB aftershow years ago. I think he said Hare Krishna a fair bit and came across as strange but a bit kinder than the generally callous nature of the show, at least to me. Then I saw snippets of him in his dandy form and he seemed different, like something happened to him. Really unpleasant. Then I didn't see much of him for years. He wrote some books, but I wasn't interested in those or his films. Then I saw he was on YT and he seemed different again. Haven't read any of his books, and I suppose the animal cruelty and his father's abuse are indicators of what he might become. I do think something changed some time in his early career and sent him down a very dark path.

He seems to have laid himself out in My Booky Wook, which makes it a mystery why he wasn't flagged as a psycho at the time, and how he's turned into this benevolent and "beloved" character. It's especially difficult to understand how this has happened amongst animal loving Brits.

I would most definitely describe myself as an animal lover but RB's animal abuse has only become public knowledge to me in the last 24 hours.

I've always had a low opinion of RB and thought he came across as unpleasant at best so he could have admitted all sorts of things in his book and I wouldn't have known. In fact there could have been multiple column inches about him and I wouldn't have read them because a) I have no interest in him b) I don't read celebrity gossip mags. Most people are probably like me. Many won't even know who he is.

I suspect that's why the Despatches/Times expose was so hyped, so it would reach as many people as possible.

@BloodyHellKen I am not talking about you (or me for that matter, I have had next to no interest in him until now too - other than passing irritation that his type is ubiquitous on our screen - and had no idea about the animal abuse until yesterday). I’m talking about the many media commentators, powerful people in the industries he’s been so successful in and fans who did read the book all those years ago, and still thought he was a thoroughly good chap and worth supporting and promoting. IME, if he had just written about being horrible to other people, I can see how that would be dismissed in a he said/she said/they deserved it sort of way, by people inclined to believe his side. If he had just written about his own self destructive traits, I can see why people would support him as a survivor/reformed character. But writing about animal abuse (there’s another disturbing account relating to some pet gerbils)? Most people react protectively towards animals when hearing about them being dealt with cruelly, because we know there isn’t another side to the story. That’s the mystery. Why his non sugar coated animal abuse stories never destroyed his credibility. Save for people falling for his apparently insincere contrition, as mentioned in the review.

@PamelaAndreaGryglaszewska I haven't known much about him, and the animal abuse is news to me. He's almost my age, so has been a sort of vaguely noticed presence in the background. If you never read his books, watched his shows or films, it is appalling to realise how much leeway the media and fans have given him.

Interesting: bbc has new transparent policy where nda's aren't used anymore.

Channel 4 still uses NDAs.