Police received report of sexual assault against comedian Russell Brand

London police announced Monday that they had received a report of a sexual assault that allegedly occurred 20 years ago, adding to accusations against former British presenter and actor Russell Brand.

Referring to the accusations relayed by The Sunday Times and Channel 4, London police said they received a report on Sunday of a sexual assault that allegedly took place in 2003 in the bustling Soho district.

“Investigators are in contact with the woman” at the heart of this accusation, said a spokesperson, explaining that she would benefit from support from the police.

“We continue to encourage anyone who believes they may have been the victim of a sexual assault, regardless of how long they have been, to contact us,” added the Scotland Yard spokesperson.

In a joint newspaper investigation The Sunday Times And The Timesas well as Channel 4, four women accused the actor of rape or sexual assault between 2006 and 2013, when Russell Brand was at the height of his career, both as a presenter on BBC Radio 2 and on Channel 4 and as an actor in Hollywood.

Before these publications, the 48-year-old ex-host, now mainly active on social networks, had firmly refuted these accusations, ensuring in a video published on several platforms that he had always had “totally consensual” relationships. He denounced a “coordinated attack”.

The affair sparked reactions all the way to Downing Street, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s spokesperson speaking on Monday about “very serious and worrying accusations”.

The media that employed Russell Brand also indicated on Sunday that they would investigate these accusations internally.

Suspended in 2008

During his career as a comedian, on television and in the cinema, in the United Kingdom then in the United States, Russell Brand was noted for his repeated escapades, his former addiction to alcohol and heroin, his brief marriage to pop singer Katy Perry and his tendency to brag about his multiple female conquests.

In 2008, Russell Brand was suspended by the BBC for making obscene calls to Fawlty Towers actor Andrew Sachs, in which he bragged about having sex with his granddaughter. He quit his radio show following the incident, which sparked thousands of complaints to the state-funded station.

In recent years, Russell Brand has largely disappeared from mainstream media, but has built a large online audience with videos mixing wellness and conspiracy theories. His YouTube channel, which has more than 6 million subscribers, has spread COVID-19 conspiracies, vaccine misinformation and interviews with right-wing hosts including Tucker Carlson and Joe Rogan.

With the Associated Press

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