Russell Brand pleads with fans to support him financially by signing up to £48 a year Rumble subscription after YouTube cut his advert revenue as comic posts another video railing against the ‘state, global media and authoritarian centralised power’
- Brand, 48, vehemently denies all allegations of any wrongdoing to women
Russell Brand has begged his fans to splash out £48 a year and subscribe to his Rumble channel after being cut off from YouTube following a ‘distressing’ week of sexual assault allegations against him.
The comedian, 48, went live on the platform after his lucrative YouTube channel was demonetised in the wake of the scandal, which has seen him losing the backing of publishers, agents and seen his stand-up tour postponed.
About 70,000 viewers tuned into his stream, in which Brand launched a fresh attack on the so-called ‘corporatist state and global media’ in a long, rambling video where he urged his followers to ‘oppose increasingly authoritarian centralised power’.
Pleading with his fans to back him, Brand said: ‘If you’re watching this on YouTube or anywhere else, eventually you’re going to have to click the link in the description and join us over in Rumble and if you can become a supporter it’s the only way that you can back our independent voice at a time where it’s obviously being challenged.’
He added in another part of the stream: ‘You now know that I have been demonetised on YouTube… fully well aware that the government wrote to social media platforms to demand that I be further censored.’
Brand opened the programme begging for people to subscribe to his Rumble channel before then launching into a rambling attack on the so-called ‘corporatist state and global media’
Brand was last seen in public last Saturday night following his stand up show at a theatre in Wembley. The rest of his tour has since been postponed
It’s thought the under-fire comic was referring to a letter written by Dame Caroline Dinenage, chairman of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, who called on Rumble to cut off the comedian’s revenue like YouTube.
READ MORE HERE: Russell Brand accuser ‘Alice’ calls for change in law to stop ‘men in their 30s having sex with 16-year-old girls’
However, Rumble stood by him with boss Chris Pavlovski saying in a statement: ‘Although it may be politically and socially easier for Rumble to join a cancel culture mob, doing so would be a violation of our company’s values and mission.
‘We emphatically reject the UK parliament’s demands.’
Brand’s return to live-streaming came just minutes after the Metropolitan Police announced it was launching an investigation after a number of ‘non recent’ sexual offence allegations were made against the comedian.
The comic-turned-political activist was accused earlier this month of multiple offences following an investigation by Channel 4’s Dispatches and The Sunday Times.
On Saturday Brand, who has vehemently denied all the allegations against him, thanked his supporters for ‘questioning’ the allegations of rape and sexual assault made against him.
On Monday however, the Met said it had received allegations of offences in London and elsewhere in the country and would investigate these, while offering specialist support to all women who made them.
The investigation is being carried out by detectives in the Met’s Central Specialist Crime Command, led by Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy.
Brand’s new video came just hours after a woman has claimed the comic left her feeling ‘vulnerable and intimated’, allegedly refusing to call a taxi for her to go until she performed a sex act
Throughout his rambling speech he accused the British government of demanding that big technology platforms censor his online content
Supt Furphy said: ‘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.’
A Met spokesman added: ‘There have been no arrests and enquiries continue.
READ MORE: Russell Brand rails against the ‘state, global media and authoritarian centralised power’ in rambling conspiracy theory-laden Rumble video – as Met Police launch probe after receiving ‘a number of allegations’ of ‘non-recent’ sexual offences
‘Anyone who wants to report an offence to the police should contact us on 101. Always dial 999 in an emergency.’
It came as Brand kept his promise to come back onto his Rumble show by publishing a video at 5.05pm on Monday evening.
He had promised to investigate the BBC’s ‘Trust News Initiative’ previously, without explaining why.
Ahead of the episode, he tweeted on X: ‘Are we being silenced? The battle for free speech – streaming now on Rumble.’
Brand opened the programme and said he was going to be talking about the attacks on free speech.
He claimed: ‘We are going to be telling you the truth.’
‘We are going to be talking about the State and the legacy media’s war on free speech,’ he continued.
‘And in particular, how that has affected me this week.
‘We are going to continue to do on this channel what we’ve always done [which is] tell you the truth as best we can.’
Throughout his live stream, called The Battle for Free Speech, he made only oblique references to the ‘events of the past week’ that saw him accused of rape, sexual assault and emotional abuse.
Waving his arms about, Brand also railed against the ‘corporatist state and global media’.
He went on to urge his 1.6million followers on the channel to fund him – with some in the comments pledging their support.
On Friday he had put up a three minute video announcing his imminent return, describing the the past week as ‘extraordinary and distressing’.
Until now Brand hadn’t spoken since last Friday night when he took to his YouTube channel to ‘absolutely deny’ what he called ‘serious allegations’ ahead of a mystery TV investigation
Channel 4 ‘s Dispatches and The Sunday Times made a number of allegations that Brand denies
The seven days he was referencing saw him accused of rape and sexual assault by four women – allegations he vehemently denies.
Rumble is an online video platform where Brand’s subscribers pay a minimum $60 (£48) fee to watch his exclusive content.
READ MORE HERE: Met Police says it has received ‘a number of allegations of sexual assault in London and across the country’ in wake of Channel 4’s Dispatches investigation into Russell Brand
During Friday’s rambling speech he accused the British government of demanding that big technology platforms censor his online content.
He also savaged his former employer the BBC for its ‘trust news initiative’ that tackles fake news.
Over the last week, several women have come forward to make allegations against the comedian which they claim happened at the height of his fame.
The shocking allegations, said to have occurred between 2003 and 2013, include the alleged rape of a woman at his home in Los Angeles and the alleged sexual assault of a 16-year-old schoolgirl.
Brand denied the accusations claiming all of his relationships had been consensual.
He had remained silent on the allegations of predatory and abusive behaviour first made by The Sunday Times and Channel 4’s Dispatches last Saturday.
In a short video, posted to Instagram, X, formally known as Twitter and YouTube he said: ‘Hello there you awakening wonders, obviously it’s been an extraordinary and distressing week and I thank you very much for your support and for questioning the information that you have been presented with.
‘By now, you’re probably aware that the British government has asked big tech platforms to censor our online content and that some online platforms have complied with that request.
The comedian, actor and internet personality previously told his viewers that there are ‘serious allegations’ made against him which he ‘absolutely refutes’. Pictured: Brand on stage in 2008
‘What you may not know is that this happens in the context of the online safety bill which is a piece of UK legislation that grants sweeping surveillance and censorship powers and it’s a law that’s already been passed.’
He added: ‘I also don’t imagine that you’ve heard of the trusted news initiative and now, as often is the case when a word like trusted is used as part of an acronym to describe an unelected body, trust is the last thing you should be offering.
‘The trusted news initiative is a collaboration between big tech and legacy media organisations to target, patrol, choke and shut down independent media organisations, like this one.’
On Thursday, another woman, named ‘Olivia’ to protect her identity’, came forward alleging that Brand had allegedly exposed himself to her in an office where BBC Los Angeles operated from in 2008.
The comic was said to have been in the building to filming a pre-recorded edition of his BBC Radio 2 programme on June 16 that year.
The programme, that went out just five days later, featured a clip of Brand and his co-host appearing to joke about the incident, with his co-host Matt Morgan noting: ‘It’s been 25 minutes since he showed his willy to a lady.’
She alleged that she answered the door to Brand and his team before going into the bathroom to get some medication.
As she turned around from the medicine cabinet, she alleged Brand was stood in front of her with his groin in her face. She claimed that he remarked: ‘I think you’re a bit of alright…I’m going to f*** you.’
She added that as she attempted to rebuff him Brand pulled out his penis and ‘pretty much served it to me as you would someone serving food’.
Until now Brand hadn’t spoken since last Friday night when he took to his YouTube channel to ‘absolutely deny’ what he called ‘serious allegations’ ahead of a mystery TV investigation.
The comedian, actor and internet personality told his viewers that there are ‘serious allegations’ made against him which he ‘absolutely refutes’.
After he allegedly exposed himself, he went on to pre-record a show for Radio 2, with his co-host Matt Morgan noting: ‘It’s been 25 minutes since he showed his willy to a lady’
The remaining shows of Brand’s Bipolarisation tour were postponed and the Metropolitan Police said they had received a report of an alleged sexual assault in the wake of media allegations about the comedian and actor
Since the allegations were made, more women have come forward with accusations while the Metropolitan Police have launched an investigation into an alleged sexual assault in Soho in 2003.
The scandal has seen Brand’s PR firm MBC PR and talent agency Tavistock Wood remove him from their websites, while his publisher Bluebird suspended their relationship with the comic.
Channel 4 went on to remove all of its programmes linked to Brand on its website, including episodes of The Great British Bake Off and Big Brother’s Big Mouth in which he was featured.
And Netflix has now been urged to remove his comedy special, Re:Birth, from its catalogue.
Brand’s YouTube account has been suspended from YouTube’s Partner Programme ‘following serious allegations against the creator’, meaning his channel is no longer able to make money from advertising.
YouTube added that suspending a creator from the YouTube Partner Programme means they are ‘prohibited from using a new or alternate channel to circumvent our enforcement decision’.
The remaining shows of his new live show, Bipolarisation, have also been suspended.
Brand still has a presence on video platform Rumble, where his channel has 1.4million followers and he hosts a weekly live show at 5pm BST.
His weekly show will return on Monday after not being published this week.
The Rumble channel description reads: ‘Everybody knows that the old ideas won’t help us. Religion is dead. Capitalism is dead. Communism is dead. Where will the answers of the next century lie? Particularly, when we’re facing a mental health epidemic and ecological meltdown.’
Critics claim Brand has ‘set up a cult’ online to back him since the birth of the Me Too movement in 2017 by giving a platform to conspiracy theories including the idea that the pandemic, the Ukraine war and climate change distract from the activities of the global elite.
What Russell Brand said in a video released on Friday:
‘Hello there you awakening wonders, obviously it’s been an extraordinary and distressing week and I thank you very much for your support and for questioning the information that you have been presented with.
‘By now, you’re probably aware that the British government has asked big tech platforms to censor our online content and that some online platforms have complied with that request.
‘What you may not know is that this happens in the context of the online safety bill which is a piece of UK legislation that grants sweeping surveillance and censorship powers and it’s a law that’s already been passed.
‘I also don’t imagine that you’ve heard of the trusted news initiative and now, as often is the case when a word like trusted is used as part of an acronym to describe an unelected body, trust is the last thing you should be offering.
‘The trusted news initiative is a collaboration between big tech and legacy media organisations to target, patrol, choke and shut down independent media organisations, like this one.
‘We’ll be talking about that on our show on Monday on Rumble but just to give you an idea on what the TNI is, this is a quote from one of their spokespeople:
‘Because actually the real rivalry now is not between for example the BBC and CNN globally, it’s actually between all trusted news providers and… digital platforms.’
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