Russell Brand has launched into another rant about free speech and conspiracies – as police confirmed they were investigating allegations of sexual assault against the under-fire comic.
The ‘Forgetting Sarah Marshall’ actor, 48, kicked off a live stream on Monday (25.09.23) on his $60 subscription channel on Rumble, hours after cops said they were probing accusations of sexual offences in London and “elsewhere” in Britain.
Brand posted on X: “Are we being silenced? The battle for free speech – streaming now on @rumblevideo.”
During the stream, the multi-millionaire went on a long-winded rant about a government conspiracy to prevent him from sharing his theories and make money from social media – while repeatedly pleading for fans to send him donations.
Detectives confirmed they have opened an investigation into a series of non-recent sexual offence allegations against the comedian, with a Metropolitan Police spokesperson saying: “Following an investigation by Channel 4’s Dispatches and The Sunday Times, the Met has received a number of allegations of sexual offences in London.
“We have also received a number of allegations of sexual offences committed elsewhere in the country and will investigate these.
“The offences are all non-recent. Officers will be offering specialist support to all of the women who have made allegations.
“Detectives have launched an investigation into allegations of sexual offences.”
Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy added: “We continue to encourage anyone who believes they may have been a victim of a sexual offence, no matter how long ago it was, to contact us.
“We understand it can feel like a difficult step to take and I want to reassure that we have a team of specialist officers available to advise and support.”
Brand was accused of offences ranging from rape and sexual assault to emotional and physical abuse by four women, whose allegations were made public on 16 September as part of a joint investigation into the comic’s treatment of women by The Times, Sunday Times and Channel 4’s ‘Dispatches’ investigative journalism team.
One of the women claimed she was 16 when she had an abusive relationship with a then 31-year-old Brand.
Another said he raped her against a wall at his LA mansion.
The four women say his offences came between 2006 and 2013 at the height of his fame.
A series of other women have since come forward to allege sexual assault and mistreatment by Brand.
Hours before news of the four women’s allegations broke, Brand posted an online video strongly denying all their accusations – and saying he was part of a “coordinated attack”.
He also recently posted a video in which he raged about a media conspiracy and how the world is apparently in the grip of a “collaboration” between corporations and news outlets.
