More women have recently come forward with allegations against British comedian and actor Russell Brand, accusing him of rape, sexual assault, and emotional abuse. These new claims follow a joint investigation by The Times and Sunday Times in collaboration with Channel 4, which was published on Saturday.
The latest allegations, as reported by the newspapers, involve unspecified claims of Brand’s behavior during the early 2000s. These allegations come after four women, including one who alleges sexual assault during a three-month relationship when she was 16 and still in school, accused Brand of misconduct.
The BBC is now facing scrutiny after it was suggested that Brand, 48, used a company-provided car service to pick up the girl from school.
Both the BBC and Channel 4 have initiated internal investigations into separate accusations of predatory behavior by Brand toward staff and audience members during his employment with them. Channel 4 has removed all programs featuring Brand from its website, including episodes of The Great British Bake Off and Big Brother’s Big Mouth in which he appeared, according to The Daily Telegraph.
Netflix has also faced calls to remove his comedy special, titled Re:Birth, from its streaming catalog.
Brand has vehemently denied any wrongdoing and attributed the allegations to the “mainstream media” and a “litany of astonishing rather baroque attacks.”