Russell Brand - everyone knew

[Mooshamoo]

I was watching the comedian Katherine Ryan say to Louis theroux that a British comedian is a sexual perpetrator. It is now believed that she was talking about Russell brand. She said on the video "when it eventually comes out about these type of people, Harvey Weinstein, Bill Cosby, this unmentionable British personality, it turns out that everyone knew. Everyone knew. ".

I was wondering did anyone on here on mumsnet know anything about Russell brand? A lot of us lived in London when her was living there. And many women on here would have been a similar age to Russell brand . I lived in London for a year and I saw Russell brand out on a night out once. That was the extent of it. I was wondering did anyone on here have any experience with him, or know about a friend/acquaintance that had any experiences with him.

It’s just you.

it is evident that the programmed is backed up by swathes of evidence.

Well she said this months before, and she also said he has extremely good lawyers and she can't afford to be bankrupt.

…did you not read my post properly? I’m not berating ANYONE for not saying something sooner. Nothing in my post implied that I did. At all.

Im critisicing the posters who ghoulishly want cookies for being ‘in the know’ and are excitedly telling the world they knew all along, like they want some special prize. Happens on every post following a scandal.

Do you understand the difference?

What are you going on about?

You haven’t answered if the children who supported Saville are responsible for his crimes? By YOUR logic - no one else’s - they are. Disgraceful

If I had the choice between outing a rapist and losing my career and saying nothing, it would be bye bye career. Without a second thought.

And if that alleged rapist had enough money to make any allegations disappear? If the victims refused to confirm those suspicions? If nothing ever came to the police or the public? You’d have sunk your career and the alleged rapist continued to enjoy fortune and fame?

Most people act out of self interest, particularly when it comes to fairly precarious occupations such as working in the media. It’s not as simple as saying someone is a predator, or making an allegation of rape, it’s seeing that through to a conclusion and few people have the determination, capacity and the financial position to risk never working again.

There is such a lot of hypocrisy around this. RB may/may not have done anything illegal. I hope that in time due process will be followed and, if guilty, that he pays the appropriate penalty. But we live in an age when people can be refused a bank account for having the wrong political views. Protesting against the NHS obsession with diversity is liable to get you ejected from the waiting room and even stating you are a woman can get you in to all sorts of hot water. Yet, somehow, it was quite alright for this guy to peddle his misogyny and cruelty live and in print and people paid for the pleasure. How can this be? Have we not facilitated this cretin through our approval?

JR is a twat of the highest rider but AGAIK has never sexually assaulted anyone - but his behavior to Andrew Sachs was grotesque

Yes I know someone whom he was sleazy towards allegedly. Can't give more details, sorry!

I think you have missed your bedtime cocoa.

What have I denied? And where? Stop making things up

No it’s not semantics. You’re not clever enough to do that. How the hell can adult fans of RB who knowingly guffaw at misogynist “jokes” be equated with children taking part in what they believed was a children’s tv show? What a sick idea.

I don’t care. I would still put my head above the parapet and say it. You can argue back with me, but this is my personal morality. Rape is one of the worst crimes and if I thought I could put it out there to potentially warn other women, I would. And yes, I’d rather sink my career and do the right thing. Because to me, I couldn’t live with myself knowing I said nothing and someone else got raped. But that’s just my personal feelings on the matter.

Well said. Entirely the right thing to do. And I agree, I just wouldn't be able to go on knowing I hadn't stepped up.

Why do they have to say anything though?

I don’t like this “Come on what do you have to say for yourself random unrelated people - the public NEED the opinion of someone who has nothing to do with it but happens to work in the same industry”. Ridiculous

But yes I miss Sean Lock too. What a wonderful human!

I dont know how that would even work, you report an offence to the police, the police usually arrest the suspect and interview them. The suspects solicitors talk to the police/CPS, not the victim

I don’t care. I would still put my head above the parapet and say it. You can argue back with me, but this is my personal morality.

I have no interest in arguing with you, I’d like to think I’d do the same but can understand why people would decide to keep quiet and move on to the next job.

Trial by press isn't a thing. The press can't send him to prison. They investigated a news story for 4 years and then published their findings, and if they are false then Brand will sue the hell out of them. There are a multitude of reasons why the victims didn't want to go to the police at the time. Imagine you are dating an extremely prominent celebrity at the height of his fame - much more rich and powerful than you, with excellent lawyers - and he forces himself on you one night and then is extremely charming and apologetic the next day. The woman in question did go to a rape clinic but I can understand 100% why she would not want to drag it through court. Rape conviction statistics are abysmal, and she would be inserting herself into the spotlight in a very traumatic setting. More people are coming forward, it may yet go to court, but victims should be given a voice whether they go to the police or not.

I watched a programme about the 7/7 attacks the other night. A tube carriage stopped alongside the carriage that had been bombed. Three blokes and a woman managed to break the windows and got in to give assistance. One man came across a man stuck in a hole in the carriage floor so he crawled underneath the train to free him. The man had lost his whole lower half and died in the rescuers arms. This rescuer talked of how he had always been scared of blood, was no sort of hero and was scared stiff when he, reluctantly, took the decision to assist. But the point is he knew that he would never be able to live with himself if he didn't do what he could. His story has stayed with me. The memories haunt him and his life has been difficult but...

She’s probably as incredulous as you are.

I remember thinking that the whole thing seemed bonkers - wasn’t an elephant involved in their wedding? I think she was literally swept off her feet and then dumped back down to earth.

I haven't read this whole thread but the idea that "everyone knew" he was a rapist seems a bit mad. I listened to Vanessa Feltz on the radio today, and she repeated about ten times at length how she met him and worked with him numerous times on Big Brother and the only thing she "knew" was that he had so many women desperate to sleep with him that there almost weren't enough hours in the day for him, all willing and "honoured" to be picked out by their idol, she described it like Mick Jagger in his heyday. She said she never ever suspected he'd want or need to assault anyone. She also said he was crude to her on one occasion and it annoyed her.

Excellent analogy. The woman would be pilloried as a star-struck girl angry she had been dumped. The celeb would move on, 'blokes' would applaud him and she would end her days in obscurity

Oh dear. I have noted various of your posts in recent threads and they are invariably miserable denial and agreement. If you read more carefully it’s obvious I wasn’t just referring to this thread.

You not knowing about something doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. Denying the experiences of women is shabby.

I always found Brand’s success baffling- people pay good money to go and listen to his inarticulate rants. I always thought he was sleazy, and a hypocrite to boot, with his anti establishment shtick and 4 £million mansion. and I think he has got away with it all for so long partly because he’s pretty.

Yes, everyone knew. I didn't know him personally but moved in similar circles in the same area. It was blatantly obvious and myself and friend who were living that life back then were left with a really bad taste in our mouth having had a close (ish) encounter with him.

We went to one of his gigs near the coast. He said at the end that if anyone wanted to, they were filming and would be filming him running down the pier - if you were happy to be involved then don't leave, wait in the atrium.

Myself and friend wanted to be involved so waited along with many, many other people. We were all shut in the atrium whilst he stood with a couple of PA's/spotters pointing out his chosen women who were then invited to his "after-party" then all released to chase him down a pier.

We encountered him a few times and it was very obvious what he was like but the pier incident was very creepy.