His management agency ended its relationship with him, claiming she had been “horribly misled” by the artist, while his editor announced that he would be “pausing” all future projects with him. The rest of its UK theater performances have also been postponed, while a women’s charity with whom he worked ended his association with him.
Before the investigations carried out by the temperature and the Sunday Times newspapers and Channel 4 were published, Brand published a video On Friday, he “absolutely” denied these “astonishing” claims. “As I’ve written a lot in my books, I was very, very promiscuous,” Brand said. “However, during this period of promiscuity, the relationships I had were absolutely always consensual.”
Brand has over 6.6 million subscribers on his YouTube channel and has posted over 2,000 videos. It’s unclear exactly how much money he made from the platform, but a social media analytics agency said the Guardian his income could be thousands of dollars per video.
YouTube said it had removed the brand from its partners program, which gives creators greater access to YouTube assets and monetization features and allows revenue sharing from ads served on their content.
“If a creator’s off-platform behavior harms our users, employees, or ecosystem, we take action to protect the community,” the platform said in a statement. “When a creator is suspended from the YouTube Partner Program, they are prohibited from using a new or alternative channel to circumvent our enforcement decision.”
Brand’s YouTube channel remains active, although he hasn’t uploaded any new videos since Friday.
The allegations relate to a time when Brand had a particularly high profile in Britain and the United States, hosting programs on the BBC and Channel 4 and starring in films including ‘Forgetting Sarah Marshall’ and ‘Rock of Ages’. . The two public channels announced that they would investigate the allegations.
A woman claimed that Brand raped her in his Los Angeles home. Medical records show she was treated at a rape crisis center the same day, the Times reported. A woman who worked with Brand claimed he assaulted her in his West Hollywood home, while another reported he assaulted her in a Manchester hotel in the United Kingdom, the Times added .
An unidentified woman said she was 16 when Brand abused her during a three-month relationship in Britain, where the age of consent is 16. The woman said she met Brand when he was 30 and during this timehe sent a chauffeured car from the BBC to collect her from school and take her to his house.
London’s Metropolitan Police said that the day after the investigation was broadcast on Channel 4, it received a separate allegation of a sexual assault on a woman dating back to 2003 in the Soho area.
“We first spoke to the Sunday Times on Saturday September 16 and have since taken further steps with the Sunday Times and Channel 4 to ensure that anyone who believes they have been the victim of a sexual offense knows how to report to the police,” the statement said.
“We continue to encourage anyone who believes they have been the victim of a sexual offense, no matter how long ago, to contact us. »
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s office said the allegations against Brand were “very serious and concerning” and encouraged people to come forward if they believe they are victims of sexual assault.
“The Prime Minister has made it clear that there should never be room for harassment, wherever it occurs,” the statement said.
Samantha Chery contributed to this report.
