Russell Brand got wind that some allegations against him were about to go public and decided to defend himself in advance.
The actor posted a video on YouTube and Twitter Friday night in which he addressed what he said was a couple of different stories that were about to be released.
Those stories are allegations made by women, some of whom say he’d abused them, TMZ reported.
The two stories were published on Saturday by The Times (UK) and Channel 4. The stories report an extensive year-long investigation.
At least 5 women have gone on the record to detail disturbing stories that they claim occurred between them and Russell from 2006 to 2013. The period in question was at the peak of Brand’s career in Hollywood.
The claims range from rape to sexual assault, and abuse. Some women also claim Brand acted in a controlling/threatening behavior.
One alleged victim, who stayed anonymous, alleged her toxic interactions with the actor started when she was 16 years old.
Ahead of the news going public, Brand reached out to his fanbase via social media to refute the allegations. As for the sexual abuse and rape allegations, he admitted to having a promiscuous phase but said all of his sexual episodes have been consensual.
At one point, he suggested that he was being targeted by mainstream media agendas and that the reason may be because of his outspokenness on his stances on politics and the such—COVID and Ukraine.
As for now, there haven’t been any official charges stemming from the criminal allegations.
