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.

I agree with this. I think far more people would protect themselves than they would admit to

I can’t find the post now but someone asked whether management will really have known. I posted this on a couple of other threads - hope I haven’t posted it on this one already! - but from personal experience I have no doubt that all managers will have known that he was a dangerous man.

if assaults took place and they didn’t know, it will have been because they made a deliberate decision not to ask their female crew about it and/or failed to create an environment where it was possible for young women to report him without fear of being blacklisted.

In fact I met brand in another environment but I worked in tv for many years - female freelancers are in an impossible position as the friend of a poster said above. This is what I posted earlier:

"Just to add - incredibly, I have personally been in a situation where I felt forced to step in between Russell Brand and some younger women, because boundaries were being pushed in the most extraordinarily rapid, completely overt, and thus very hard to challenge manner. They were young women in a work environment and he was a celebrity, so they were trapped. It was exactly the kind of 'look at me being - or perhaps pretending to be - a predator ' hiding-in-plain-sight MO that the documentary tried (and failed I think) to describe.

He knew exactly what I was doing and gave me what I can only describe as a look of pure hatred, as cliched as that sounds. He quickly turned that look into a mocking attempt to 'sexy-hug' me too (I was late-forties then, it was designed to humiliate me as I was so obviously undesirable and shrivelled up). His eyes were just.. dead. It genuinely frightened me and I am a loud-mouth rad fem who tells men in vans to fuck off etc.

I've never forgotten it, it was absolutely extraordinary. It's the only time I've ever felt like I've come into contact with something like a psychopath."

Interesting!
Maybe he is one of many
Maybe there’s more dodgy men than nice men in the industry

I agree - I don't think it indicates anything about a comedian/colleague if they remain silent at this point. Particularly a male colleague who won't have experienced predatory behaviour from Brand directly.

But if they were part of a cover-up/minimising - knowing perhaps from female comedians or production staff that they did not feel safe - then I hope they are really taking a hard look at their standards.

I noted comments about Frankie Boyle earlier in the thread. He voices really extreme stuff, but I'm not aware even of rumours that he harasses women in real life. I suppose you could argue that he sets a certain tone - but from life comedy shows on the London circuit, he's not particularly extreme, and even fluffy-been-in-kids-shows Miles Jupp has been known to use rape "jokes" that I thought were dreadful.

You know, people pilloried Mary Whitehouse, but I really think we need her back.

Eh? Plenty of people knew Jimmy Saville was dodgy - in fact Operation Yewtree shows they facilitated him! He also constantly made inappropriate jokes, behaved disgracefully and openly towards women and he openly made misogynistic comennts all the time just like Brand.

That poster is saying Brand’s fans are responsible for these crimes. Not Brand himself^. His fans. so why not attribute that same principle to Saville?

Assault or rape has nothing to do with how many women are willing to have sex with you.

In case the allegations are not true? Innocent until proven guilty in our legal system, not so much in our media.

Like most people with no first hand knowledge, i have no idea of the truth but this circus isn’t the way to get to it.

They won't say anything because like most people they are selfish and self serving When push comes to shove people will just keep their heads down until it all blows over .

It's ultimately down to skanky men at the end of the day. The dismissive attitide to women etc. He was a crap comedian, who b*tcjed about women for laughs. He was a small man with a small dick. And he wasn't even funny. Good luck to him 😒

Really. Well, there's another booky wook in this.

He is repellent. So too is Boyle and Walliams. Though I hope neither of them are akin to Brand, I will be really glad if this marks the end of explicitly misogynistic comedians being mainstream.

Another thing I think is fucking ghoulish when these scandals come out is the people on these threads jostling for morality points.

”I would definitely behave this way in a situation I’ve never been in and will probably never be in, arent I so upstanding and boo to anyone not like me”.

Frankly I’ll believe it when I see it. Because most people are not like that with strangers - Christ people who are supposed to care about me know I was raped as a child and have said fuck all about it to anyone - but the Hypothetically Moral posters trot along and smugly make out they’re a cut above the rest and would definitely lose everything no matter what .

I frankly just don’t believe it.

This isn’t just a news article. It is the result of several years of investigative journalism, research, corroboration, and legal checks. That is very different.

They have written and recorded evidence from several unrelated women. This is not some kiss and tell story for money.

Dom Joly has needled at the Brand devotees and the "I'm being silenced" line

https://twitter.com/domjoly/status/1703766140801966344

Not sure what Nish Kumar has said though someone upthread mentioned he said something. Now. After Katherine Ryan.

It took a male comedian calling out Bill Cosby (dave chappelle I thought, but a search says it was Hannibal Buress) before everyone was like "oh my god who knew". Well loads of them but they didn't want to believe it.
.
Comedy is a supremely egotistical medium. You literally cause a physical reaction in someone when you make them laugh. Actors don't do that. Possibly singers if you make someone hum a tune or musicians if they can make you dance, or maybe some sort of erotica/ porn. Male comics have profoundly fragile egos too. Look at all those panel shows and shit podcasts. It's all about the BANTZ.

I dont know much about his actual career, I asked earlier in the thread if any comedians ever refused to work with him

What did Nish Kumar say, not that I can stand him

She phoned his agent to tell them what he was like and what he was doing and had done.

A lawyer got back to her with a threatening letter.

FinnRussell, that wasn't my point. My point was that a woman who knew him extremely well at the time and was observing him interact with women did not remotely guess or "know" he was capable of assault. That's my reply to the title of this thread.

Contrasting with Jimmy Saville, half the public back in the 80s "knew" he was seriously suspect. Not one of my parents' friends at the time was remotely surprised....he lived fairly locally and plenty of people would never have let their small children near him.

?

Which threads?

I have only posted about RB or indeed sex offenders on this one.

Im not saying it didn’t happen. Please point to where I said that.

@MartinChuzzlewit obviously I understand the difference.
My point is that they knew, you knew. They didnt say anything at the time, you didnt.
The only aspect that is different is that you "arent ghoulishly wanting cookies". My point is that not "ghoulishly wanting cookies" doesnt make you somehow better.

I'm assuming that Katie Perry won't make any public comment.

I don't really follow sleb twaddle - did either party give reasons for seeking divorce?

I agree - I don't think it indicates anything about a comedian/colleague if they remain silent at this point.

Me neither

When the likes of Brand have serious criminal accusations made against them they absolutely should be responding at the very least.

However to claim someone-who-kind-of-does-the-same-job-in-the-same-industry should also give their opinion is too much of a witch hunt for my liking. WTAF has Jimmy Carr got to do with any of it?!

@teddyandgypsy what? Definitely time for your cocoa, your comment in reply to mine makes no sense at all.

It is not proving anything. They are allegations, that’s all. We don’t have his response or explanation. We don’t actually have any evidence at all. That doesn’t mean it’s not true but nor does it mean it is.

im not an abuser apologist, I’m just very much pro justice and anti trial by media. Our justice system is horrific for rape convictions, and we must sort that out, but this is not the way.

months ago it was Phil schofield being stamped on from all sides. No law breaking involved, but he was utterly destroyed. Kevin spacey next - he was acquitted. Now brand. This will pass and it will be someone else’s turn. It’s utterly distasteful and everyone is playing vulture.

@bombastix
I can't even look at Boyle after what he said in regards to disability.

Are you hard of understanding? Again, you not knowing about something doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.

I don’t keep a note of you banal posts but you have made negative and argumentative comments on various posts. I tend to notice difficult people but you aren’t important enough to keep records about.

God yes the odiously creepy Walliams and the ableist Boyle can both go in the bin.