In case you’ve been living under a rock, a quick overview on the Russell Brand controversy? (can you call it controversy when the evidence against him is indisputable?), ‘scandal’?, Brand, an, up until now, highly regarded British comedian, has been under the limelight for all the wrong reasons this week following the release of Channel 4’s ‘Dispatches’ documentary on Saturday night (16/09). In the remarkable, but also incredibly disturbing 90 minute long piece of investigative journalism, shocking details were set out about Brand’s (mis)treatment of women. Whilst the (4) allegations of rape are just that, allegations, and there’s the whole ‘innocent until proven guilty’ thing to be considered, the footage shown of Brand’s misogynistic attitudes towards women- the audio recordings, the texts, they are not just ‘allegations’, they are undeniable. It’s there in black and white and, as the name of the documentary perfectly sums it up, ‘in plain sight..’
I have seen a lot of people, online, standing ‘in solidarity’ with Brand. And, the saddest part about it is that, it’s not just ‘keyboard warriors’, the usual culprit when it comes to victim blaming, but intelligent people, celebrities, even. Take GB News presenter Beverley Turner for example, who sent a tweet to Brand, following the documentaries release, stating that he (Brand) is her ‘hero’, going along with his utter crap excuse that he is the victim of a mainstream media* ‘manhunt’ against him
*(Media that feels ‘threatened’ by his 6.6 million YouTube subscribers, apparently)-
again, utter crap.
Another excuse Brand, and his supporters, put forward is that ‘the media are using his promiscuity, for which he has always been open (in his words, ‘sometimes too open’), against him, trying to paint him as being some sort of sex offender’ (for which he, quite clearly, is. Watch the Dispatches doc and tell me otherwise)…
Yes, Brand has been open about his past that’s been fraught with addiction, but that doesn’t excuse what is evidently disgusting, misogynistic behaviour. Being an addict- of sex, alcohol, drugs (paedophilia?), whatever, it doesn’t mean that he can’t/shouldn’t be held to account. He should be. He must be. So, to all the people offering their support to Brand because ‘yes, he has always been open about his promiscuity and sex addiction’, like that excuses his disgusting treatment of women- no. He needs to be held to account and face up to what he’s done…
So please, don’t stand in support of the abuser, stand in support of all the women who have come forward, and all the women who, I have no doubt, are yet to come forward, who are probably sat at home right now, reading the overwhelming number of what can only be described as, ‘victim blaming’ comments, questioning; ‘ is it worth it?’ (It is). We can’t let another man get away with using his power to destroy lives. Russell Brand might have changed his life around, now being considered the “epitome” of health but, for all the women whose lives he has destroyed, what a slap in the face. Those women deserve justice. They deserve to feel seen and believed,
always.
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