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.

Surely it's a police matter?
Trial by press shouldn't be a thing.

@Takoneko
I realise this. I never said he didn't abuse his position or age.

You are mistaken. A 16 year old is legally a child. You are confusing the age of consent with whether someone is a child and subject to child protection laws. The incidents involving the 16 year old are accusations of child abuse, regardless of whether there was also lawful consensual sex at other times.

Never met him but always found him totally repellent on the TV. I can recall mentioning his name on those MN ‘celebs you hate’ threads in the past. I’m absolutely not surprised by these revelations. Sometimes people just give off bad vibes.
I think there was quite a bit of abuse in his childhood - his father allowed him to watch porn at a primary school age and hired him a prostitute whilst on holiday when RB was 16 - the father was in the twin bed next to them with 2 prostitutes himself 🤢

It wasn't a one off, she went to him on more than one occasion. I lost my virginity to an older man (28) when I was 16. There was no deterring me despite my parents efforts. I'm not downplaying his utter sleaziness, but 16 yr olds can be very determined.

2006 it was getting into dodgy territory, but in some places it still wasn't that bad. He isn't a child abuser.
Saville was protected by royalty and Thatcher, he was in a powerful position. So was Schofield, Prince Andrew/Epstein, but the people dropping cryptic clues were no less famous/in a good position than Brand, so they can't justify their silence imo.
I think that it was rape with the American woman, but it was late enough that everyone knowing and nothing being done should also be investigated. The broadcasting companies need to have legalisation put in place the way the Stephen Lawrence case made public bodies responsible for preventing racism, rather than just responding to it.

For me with RB there’s two issues at play

Firstly - The right of victims to tell their story. I was raped as a child and I’d sooner cut my hand off than go to the police. The reasons being that I really am OK ow but going through a process where I’m grilled, forced to drag up memories, spoken down to in court, disbelieved and treated like shit by police is NOT something I want to go through. So whilst I think in an ideal world the best course of action is reporting to the police, the reality is different.

The other issue is responsible journalism. I am VERY uncomfortable with the notion that the press can report on accusations that (and I’m NOT saying I don’t believe these women) have no evidence, no arrest or charge or even a police report. With Weinstein there were recordings and police reports before the story broke. The journalists took responsible steps to ensure they were protected legally. It seems RB is the anomaly that no compelling evidence has been put forward yet these allegations have been published.

Why it’s a surprised to anyone that he was a womaniser, I’ll never know. It was basically his USP. He showed little respect for women when he spoke in such vile terms to Andrew Sachs about his GD. The problem is - there’s nothing illegal about being a womaniser, and if that’s all people can say he was (like that annoying and not especially successful male comedian on the Dispatches documentary who I really don’t think needed to speak for women and witnessed absolutely nothing at all re RB) then colour me shocked. Yes there’s deeper accusations but “I knew he shagged lots of women” - well no shit Sherlock we all knew that!

For the record I never liked RB. I never found him funny and I LOVED BB and hated that he presented the spin off show. I couldn’t watch it with him presenting it. It seems he’s settled down from being Shagger of the Year to a quieter life, though I don’t follow his conspiracy stuff. So I have no skin in the game.

I think there has to be a happy medium between “we can publish any number of unfounded accusations” and silencing people.

Yes I’ve known for a while that there have been claims made against him. I don’t live in London nor work in media 😂

I remember a few months ago there was allegations made against an unknown person and I commented RBs initials on the thread on here but it all got deleted. Not the Huw Edwards time but before that.

The Met are looking into purely because the media have conducted such a thorough bit of investigative journalism into this cunt.

So he’ll have a proper trial soon, so you can stop worrying.

Should we get rid of all investigative journalism then?

Without the press Weinstein would never have been court, Savile would never have been exposed.

Why are you continuing to minimise when the poster explains how it was rape? @MNetcurtains

It doesn't matter if you're in a relationship already, or if they initiated the sex act. The moment someone says stop or indicates they want you to stop (i.e., your partner starting to choke, fight, and punch you) you STOP. If you don't, that's rape.

Feels like I keep having to post this and I don't understand why so many posters can't seem to understand consent or what sexual assault is

Her being in an abusive relationship with him doesn't make it better, it makes it worse.
She was 'determined' to be raped and abused?

Well no they don’t look into crimes reported on behalf of others.

They are NOW looking into an alleged adulation from 2003 because someone has gone to the police after the documentary

But he didn’t though, did he?

He made no secret of being promiscuous. But he certainly didn’t talk openly about sexually assaulting or raping people.

Shagging lots of willing partners is actually absolutely fine.

The problem is the alleged SA and rape, not the promiscuity. Which until this weekend, most of the public were not aware of.

Well she probably didn’t expect to be raped did she.

See I think he is guilty - I grew up in London and was a teen - young adult during that role who spent a lot of time in Camden. Over the last few days Including this post how many people claim to have had either personal experience with him or a friend or a relative etc
it seems very unlikely that many on one forum would have.
this is how the issue having to Separate the real ones from the jump on the bandwagon and want to be involved in the drama clang.

@Ponoka7

'He isn't a child abuser'

Words fail me.

Your views are disgusting.

Well its been all over MN and tattle life for years so clearly people did know!

TBF, there has been no one so far say that he slept with them when they were underage. It’s not disgusting, it’s fact.

As someone who was raped as a child I find it quite offensive that sex above the age of consent is considered the same as what I went through

Given how few rapes are even reported let alone investigated or tried, how do you expect this to come to the attention of the police?

He made lots of jokes about rape and sexual assault in an ironic/edgy way though.

I’m not surprised by the allegations, and don’t doubt they’re true but at the same time I met him/worked in his vicinity several times in that period and he was absolutely lovely to me. Not EVERYONE knew.

You're not legally an adult until 18 so yes she was a child.

Exactly. Well said.

Metropolitan police said last night no one had made a statement. Today police said 1 person now had, 16 year old Alice.