Russell Brand continues to face backlash as more of his past leud comments resurface online after being accused of sexual assault by multiple women.
During an episode of The Russell Brand Show on BBC Radio 2 from 2007, Brand could be heard suggesting that a 15-year-old girl should have a “legal sex”-themed birthday party when she turns 16.
“I suppose you’re 16, you can’t really drink booze yet, or any drugs because that’s illegal. 16, right, now you will be legally allowed to have sexual partners,” Brand, now 48, told the caller, who wanted advice about her upcoming bash.
The caller awkwardly laughed at his comment before Brand continued.
“Now, I think that you should theme the party around legal sex,” he said. “Why don’t you have it themed around vampires? Because, I suppose what you really want to do is heighten the mood. You’re 16, you’re still essentially a child, but you’re coming of age. I think you want to heighten the mood of danger.”
Describing the possible vampire-themed event, Brand said it would be “erotic, but in a suppressed suitable way for a 16-year-old girl.”
The radio show clip resurfaced after Brand was accused of sexual assault, rape and emotional abuse by several women, who alleged the interactions occurred between 2006 and 2013.
In a report published by the U.K.’s The Times on Saturday, September 16, four women — one of whom claimed she was 16 at the time — described their experiences with Brand. The bombshell expose was published in collaboration with the Channel 4 Dispatches documentary about the comedian, also released on Saturday.
Brand, for his part, denied the allegations one day prior.
“I’ve received two extremely disturbing letters, or a letter and an email, one from a mainstream media TV company [and] one from a newspaper, listing a litany of extremely egregious and aggressive attacks,” he shared in a social media video posted on Friday, September 15, refuting the “very serious allegations” made against him.
He claimed that the allegations “pertain to the time when I was working in the mainstream” in various acting gigs. Brand noted that although he was “very, very promiscuous” in his past, “the relationships I had were absolutely, always consensual.”
“I was always transparent about that then — almost too transparent. And I’m being transparent about it now as well,” he added. “And to see that transparency metastasized into something criminal that I absolutely deny makes me question [if] there is another agenda at play?”
Brand claimed that the accusations were part of “a coordinated attack” and noted that he “obviously” has plans to investigate the “very, very serious” matter going forward.
As clips from Brand’s past radio show have been revisited amid the scandal, the BCC released a statement regarding its relationship with the actor.
“The documentary and associated reports contain serious allegations spanning a number of years Russell Brand worked on BBC radio [programs] between 2006 and 2008, and we are urgently looking into the issues raised,” the statement read.
If you have experienced sexual assault, call the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 for confidential support.
