WTF happened to Russell Brand?

[username108]

I'm just watching his videos on Youtube and he seems (sorry) WOKE as fuck all of a sudden. WTF happened to him?!

There is a lot of misunderstanding amongst people about the word 'woke'. It comes from African American vernacular (I'm Black and first leant it from cousins in the USA - there was also a popular Erykah Badu song which contained it). It means (or meant to us) conscious, aware, well informed etc.

It has now been co-opted by mainly non-black, middle class people as a way to insult people who they deem to be self righteous.

Merriam-Webster explains it better than me:
"Stay woke became a watch word in parts of the black community for those who were self-aware, questioning the dominant paradigm and striving for something better. But stay woke and woke became part of a wider discussion in 2014, immediately following the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. The word woke became entwined with the Black Lives Matter movement; instead of just being a word that signaled awareness of injustice or racial tension, it became a word of action. Activists were woke and called on others to stay woke.

Like many other terms from black culture that have been taken into the mainstream, woke is gaining broader uses. It’s now seeing use as an adjective to refer to places where woke people commune: woke Twitter has very recently taken off as the shorthand for describing social-media activists."

ElliePhillips thank you for that explanation, I vaguely remembered the origins of the word but not much else.

Bit sad how its meaning evolved.

I used to like RB when he was a comedian, but he began to like the sound of his own voice just a little too much. In my eyes is now a rather naff self-styled, preening guru.

CheshireChat you are very welcome. It is a shame yes. I now cringe every time I hear it used as an insult by someone who clearly doesn't understand the original AAVE meaning

Dumb as shite

Speakout are you thinking about the way RB was years ago before he got sober? Listen to one of his podcasts. He struggles with MH issues which he is very open about and he is a recovering addict but he definitely isn't dumb. He is naturally smart and also really well read and well informed. Honestly, try listening to him. It will surprise you.

PS not related to him in any way!

RB has openly admitted he has an addict personally to everything and nothing has ever worked; eating, sex, fame, drugs
Now he is more spiritual and that works for him, which is great.
He is not an ' enlightened piss-head' and I personally don't find him tedious at all, I ring he speaks a lot more sense than some.

• personality and think

It’s a shame it has become an insult as actually the sentiments of the people described as woke represent the better side of humanity. Considerate of other people and the planet, respectful, compassionate, unselfish. The unwoke are actually the biggest shits of society. And the use of woke is an insidious way of undermining more progressive aspects of society.

(But despite this I still like the definition of woke I read here ages ago - people who are so open minded their brains have fallen out)

Awoken and aware? Still a twat.

ElliePhillips - I knew about the AAVE origin, but isn't this also just an example of the normal evolution of words? Politically Correct went the same way- started off as a positive concept but came to be used derisively about things (or people) that were considered too pc.

I just watched a couple of his recent videos. As others have noted, he is obviously on a program and clearly has an interest in Buddhism and Eastern philosophy. Is trying to be mindful and compassionate.

The thing is, that rubs a lot of people in England the wrong way. A lot of Brits really hate people who try to better themselves, see life from a different perspective, etc.

BudgieHammockBananaSmuggler

the problem is that most "woke" people don't "represent the better side of humanity."
Aren't
"Considerate of other people and the planet, respectful, compassionate, unselfish. "

Most only want to represent their view and claim others are phobic, racist and selfish. Most are in point of fact bigots.

His standup 👍
His radio shows when Matt Morgan is involved 👍

His preaching 👎👎👎

He strikes me as that type who aspires to be wise and spiritual, but will revert to his true lech self the second the opportunity arises. There are too many stories about his unpleasant behaviour around women for some of them not to be true. In fact he's probably confirmed a few in his books...

He really is very self aware. He laughs at himself all the time. Some odd comments on here. I'm not his mum, or agent or even his greatest fan but it does annoy me that people have opinions about him based on something they read in the paper 10 years ago.

He had some very difficult experiences when he was growing up, he has MH issues and is a recovering addict so he's not perfect but he's changed and matured a bit. Like most people.

Oh he’s so self righteous.

Seems like he was as arse to Katy Perry, dumped her via text (listen to Ghost).

He’s a knob.

I love him. He is honest about himself and his past behaviour and is frankly a hell of a lot less judgmental than some of the people on here.
He's incredibly smart and is always wanting to learn more. He interviews people on the right who get a ton of hate. He doesn't just interview people who agree with him. I think he has a lot to offer.

I haven't paid any attention to him for a couple of years now or whenever it was he was with Katy Perry. He certainly looks healthier than I remember, not so gaunt. And his eyes seem to be, IDK, more peaceful? He used to have what we called 'Charlie Manson eyes'. Really glassy and 'intense'.

I know he's had a lot of struggles and troubles with addiction. I wish him well.

He’s more wank than woke.

Words and their usage evolve, always have alway will, it’s an absolute nonsense to say certain people or certain communities have ownership of them or their meanings.

I stopped posting on MN a while ago and recently due to WFH I decided to have a glance around. Hasn't changed. Lovely that white middle-aged women are STILL falling over themselves to performatively dismiss concepts crucial to understanding anti-blackness, white supremacy and indeed racism within structural imbalances.

As you were

it’s an absolute nonsense to say certain people or certain communities have ownership of them or their meanings.

I love this type of retort - straight from someone who's probably never been called the n*word therefore wouldn't understand a single thing about why certain communities do OWN certain terminology, phrasing and vernacular. In my next life I hope to live in such privileged ignorance.

Good luck putting that genie back in the bottle. As if it's only women on MN who use the word "woke" to refer to censorious social justice activists

As you were

He grew up after he fell in love, got married and had a kid