Russell Brand: Elon Musk and Andrew Tate join fans reacting to allegations – as BBC ‘urgently looking into issues’
The BBC has said it is “urgently looking into the issues raised” by allegations made against the comedian Russell Brand after he was publicly accused of rape and sexual assault.
When asked if it would launch an investigation, the corporation said in a statement: “The documentary and associated reports contained serious allegations, spanning a number of years.
“Russell Brand worked on BBC radio programmes between 2006 and 2008 and we are urgently looking into the issues raised.”
It came after charity Trevi Women, which Brand supported through his own Stay Free Foundation, announced it was cutting ties with the presenter in light of the allegations.
Four women have accused Brand of sexual assaults between 2006 and 2013 while the comedian was at the height of his fame, in a joint investigation by The Sunday Times and Channel 4 Dispatches.
He denies all the allegations against him.
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The allegations in full
In a post on Instagram, the Devon-based charity, which said Brand had offered his support last year through his Stay Free Foundation, wrote: “The media revelations have been difficult to process.
“But our priority remains and continues to be the safety and well-being of all women and girls now and in the future.
“We have ended our association with Russell Brand and the Stay Free Foundation.”
According to his website, Brand’s charity also supports Treasures Foundation, which provides accommodation to women with drug addictions in east London, and Friendly House, which runs similar services in Los Angeles.
Neither charity has publicly commented yet on the allegations against Brand. Sky News has contacted both for comment.
It comes as:
• Brand performed at a comedy show in London on Saturday
• Production company Banijay promised an “urgent investigation”
• Elon Musk and Andrew Tate reacted to the allegations against Brand
• The UK foreign secretary called for quicker responses to such claims
• A parliamentary committee said it would “closely monitor” the issue
• Amnesty International said claims were “shocking” but it received no complaints
Brand arriving at the Troubadour Wembley Park theatre on Saturday night
Since the allegations were published on Saturday, politicians and celebrities have commented on the allegations.
The Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee chair, Dame Caroline Dinenage, has promised that MPs will “closely monitoring” the response to the allegations against Brand.
Production company Banijay UK has also promised an “urgent investigation”. The company owns Endermol, which produced The Channel 4 show Big Brother and its spin-offs, on which Brand worked at the time of some of the claims.
“In light of the very serious allegations relating to the alleged serious misconduct of Russell Brand while presenting shows produced by Endemol in 2004 and 2005, Banijay UK has launched an urgent internal investigation and will co-operate with any requests for information from broadcast partners and external agencies,” the company said in a statement.
“We also encourage anybody who feels that they were affected by Brand’s behaviour while working on these productions to contact us in confidence.”
Amnesty International said no complaints or concerns were raised when Brand took part in its Secret Policeman’s Ball fund-raising gigs in 2006 and in 2012.
But it urged women to come forward “if there is anything that they experienced at that time that is of concern.”
The human rights group added in a statement: “We do not have an ongoing relationship with him.
“The allegations are shocking and distressing. Our thoughts are with the women involved.”
Russell Brand performing in 2006
‘Certain things I can’t discuss’
On Sunday night, Brand appeared live on stage in London hours after being publicly accused of rape and sexual assault, telling audience members “there were certain things he could not discuss”
The comedian turned up in a black Mercedes 46 minutes late to the sold-out gig at the Troubadour Wembley Park theatre, which was due to start at 7pm but did not begin until just after 8pm on Saturday.
The venue has a capacity of 2,000 and fans who had not bought valid tickets could be seen before the show begging front-of-house staff to let them in.
A video from inside his comedy gig on Saturday night showed him walking out on stage smiling and being met with cheers before telling the crowds: “Thank you, thank you, I love you.”
Dressed in white trainers, grey jeans, a black jacket and sunglasses, the 48-year-old appeared to briefly address the allegations made against him before he began his set.
Audience members told the PA news agency Brand told them he hoped they would “appreciate” there were “certain things he could not discuss” during the show.
The set itself was shorter than the time crowds had waited for it to begin, and people could be seen leaving an hour and three minutes after it began.
Brand made a swift exit from the venue just before 9.40pm.
Brand left the theatre just before 9.40pm
After the show, there was a mixed response from audience members to the allegations, with one telling Sky News: “I don’t believe anything until it’s… you need to see the evidence.
“I doubt it somehow. In my heart, I don’t believe it.”
Another said: “You stand by women, you know? Women stand by women.
“I’m not going to stand by a man, no matter how much you might like the things he says.”
Brand has three more dates for his Bipolarisation live show tour, with his next a sell-out in Windsor, before appearances in Plymouth and Wolverhampton.
His alcohol-free wellness festival, Community, is also due to return in the summer next year.
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Fans react to Russell Brand allegations
‘I feel like I’m being attacked’
Ahead of the publication of the claims, Brand, who has in recent years repositioned himself as a wellness guru and critic of the mainstream media, released a video entitled “So, This is Happening” in which he described the claims as “a litany of extremely egregious and aggressive attacks”.
Brand said he “absolutely refutes” the accusations that “pertain to the time when I was working in the mainstream”.
“As I’ve written about extensively in my books, I was very, very promiscuous,” he said in the clip.
“I don’t mind them using my books and my stand-up to talk about my promiscuous consensual conduct in the past. What I seriously refute are these very, very serious criminal allegations.”
He added: “Also, it’s worth mentioning that there are witnesses whose evidence directly contradicts the narrative that these two mainstream media outlets are trying to construct, apparently, in what seems to me to be a coordinated attack.”
Signing off the clip, he said: “Now, I don’t wanna get into this any further because of the serious nature of the allegations, but I feel like I’m being attacked and plainly they’re working very closely together.
“We are obviously going to look into this matter ’cause it’s very, very serious.
“In the meantime, I want you to stay close, stay awake, but more important than any of that, if you can, please stay free.”
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Brand denies ‘serious allegations’
Musk, Tate and Gallacher react to accusations
Brand’s video, posted on social media site X, formerly known as Twitter, received a response from the platform’s owner, Elon Musk.
The billionaire wrote: “Of course. They don’t like the competition.”
TV star turned radio host, Kirsty Gallacher, who is the older sister of Brand’s wife Laura, also shared the video on her Instagram story with a red love heart.
She later deleted the post.
Brand also received support from former Fox News host, Tucker Carlson, as well as Tristan Tate, the brother of controversial influencer Andrew Tate, who said he “did not believe one word of it”.
Andrew Tate, meanwhile, re-shared a post on X which claimed Brand was getting the “Andrew Tate treatment”.
The influencer is awaiting trial in Romania, charged with human trafficking, rape and forming an organised crime group.
Tate was indicted in June, along with his brother Tristan and two Romanian female suspects. They deny the allegations.
While the allegations have attracted the attention of major American public figures such as Mr Musk and Mr Carlson, they have yet to make as much impact in the US media as they have in the UK.
While NBC and the Washington Post have covered Brand’s denials, alongside entertainment sites E! and TMZ, the story has featured lower down their websites, while the influential New York Times is yet to publish an article about the claims.
Read more:
Comedy star often at the centre of controversy
Brand’s Radio X show breaks broadcasting rules
Brand promoting his autobiography ‘My Booky Wook’ in 2009. Pic: AP
Cleverly calls for quick response to concerns
Meanwhile, the UK’s foreign secretary, James Cleverly, spoke to Sky News about the dangers of “sharp differentials in power” following the allegations against Brand.
He did not comment specifically on the allegations but told Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips: “We see that [sharp differentials in power] in the film industry, the entertainment industry and sadly, of course, we sit in the area that I work in terms of politics, where you have very, very significant power differentials, long working hours, people in that environment.
“Now, that is absolutely no excuse for individual misconduct and people have to take responsibility for their own conduct.
“In those environments, I think institutionally we need to be particularly vigilant.
“We need to make sure that we are going out of our way to protect the people that have less power than those around them.
“We need to respond to their concerns very, very quickly when they are highlighted.”
The UK’s foreign secretary, James Cleverly, was asked about the allegations on Sky News
‘Open secret on comedy circuit’
Ayesha Hazarika, a broadcaster and former Labour adviser, told the same show about her own experience of working with Brand.
She said: “I was on the comedy circuit around the same time as Russell Brand, I gigged with Russell Brand, I went on a number of his shows and it was an open secret in the world of comedy for a long time that his behaviour made a lot of women feel deeply, deeply uncomfortable.
“Lots of female comedians talked about this behind the scenes but they didn’t have the power to do anything about it.
“We see that story time and time again, whether it is researchers in parliament, young producers in TV and broadcasting.
“We have to have a situation where we believe people and we have a culture where if people do come forward they are taken seriously.”
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Brand’s behaviour ‘open secret’
BBC and Channel 4 respond to claims
In response to the joint investigation, a BBC spokesperson said: “Russell Brand worked for a number of different organisations, of which the BBC was one.
“As is well known, Russell Brand left the BBC after a serious editorial breach in 2008 – as did the then controller of Radio 2.
“The circumstances of the breach were reviewed in detail at the time. We hope that demonstrates that the BBC takes issues seriously and is prepared to act.
“Indeed, the BBC has, over successive years, evolved its approach to how it manages talent and how it deals with complaints or issues raised.
“We will always listen to people if they come forward with any concerns, on any issue related to any individual working at the BBC, past or present.”
Brand was married to singer Katy Perry between 2010 and 2011
Channel 4 said it was “appalled to learn of these deeply troubling allegations, including behaviour alleged to have taken place on programmes made for Channel 4 between 2004 and 2007”.
The broadcaster added: “We are determined to understand the full nature of what went on.
“We have carried out extensive document searches and have found no evidence to suggest the alleged incidents were brought to the attention of Channel 4.
“We will continue to review this in light of any further information we receive, including the accounts of those affected individuals.”
Channel 4 said it would be asking the production company who made the programmes “to investigate these allegations and report their findings properly and satisfactorily to us”.
Diane Gall’s husband, Martyn, had been out on a morning bike ride with his friends on their usual route one winter morning in November 2020 – when he was killed by a reckless driver.
Diane and her daughters had to wait almost three years for her husband’s case to be heard in court.
The case was postponed three times, often without warning.
“You just honestly lose faith in the system,” she says.
“You feel there’s a system there that should be there to help and protect victims, to be victims’ voices, but the constant delays really take their toll on individuals and us as a family.”
Diane Gall’s husband, Martyn
The first trial date in April 2022 was cancelled on the day and pushed four months later.
The day before the new date, the family were told it wasn’t going ahead due to the barristers’ strike.
It was moved to November 2022, then postponed again, before eventually being heard in June the following year.
“You’re building yourself up for all these dates, preparing yourself for what you’re going to hear, reliving everything that has happened, and it’s retraumatising,” says Diane.
Diane Gall and Sky correspondent Ashna Hurynag
‘Radical’ reform needed
Diane’s wait for justice gives us an insight into what thousands of victims and their families are battling every day in a court system cracking under the weight of a record-high backlog.
There are 76,957 cases waiting to be heard in Crown Courts across England and Wales, as of the end of March 2025.
To relieve pressure on the system, an independent review by Sir Brian Leveson last month made a number of recommendations – including creating a new division of the Crown Court known as an intermediate court, made up of a judge and two magistrates, and allowing defendants to choose to be tried by judge alone.
He said only “radical” reform would have an impact.
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Will court reforms tackle backlog?
But according to exclusive data collected for Sky News by the Law Society, there is strong scepticism among the industry about some proposed plans.
Before the review was published, we asked 545 criminal lawyers about the idea of a new tier to the Crown Court – 60% of them told us a type of Intermediate Court was unlikely to reduce the backlog.
“It’s moving a problem from one place to another, like moving the deck chairs on the Titanic. It’s not going to do anything,” says Stuart Nolan, chair of the Law Society’s criminal law committee.
“I think the problem with it is lack of resources or lack of will to give the proper resources.
“You can say we need more staff, but they’re not just any staff, they are people with experience and training, and that doesn’t come quickly or cheap.”
Instead, the lawyers told us creating an additional court would harm the quality of justice.
Chloe Jay, senior partner at Shentons Solicitors, agrees the quality of justice will be impacted by a new court division that could sit without a jury for some offences.
She says: “The beauty of the Crown Court is that you have two separate bodies, one deciding the facts and one deciding law.
Casey Jenkins, president of London Criminal Court Solicitors’ Association
“So the jury doesn’t hear the legal arguments about what evidence should be excluded, whether something should be considered as part of the trial, and that’s what really gives you that really good, sound quality of justice, because you haven’t got one person making all the decisions together.
“Potentially in an intermediate court, that is what will happen. The same three people will hear those legal arguments and make the finding of guilt or innocence.”
The most striking finding from the survey is that 73% of criminal lawyers surveyed are worried about offences no longer sitting in front of a jury.
Casey Jenkins, president of London Criminal Court Solicitors’ Association, says this could create unconscious bias.
“There’s a real risk that people from minority backgrounds are negatively impacted by having a trial by a judge and not a jury of their peers who may have the same or similar social background to them,” she says.
“A jury trial is protection against professional judicial decisions by the state. It’s a fundamental right that can be invoked.”
Instead of moving some offences to a new Crown Court tier, our survey suggests criminal lawyers would be more in favour of moving cases to the magistrates instead.
Under the Leveson proposals, trials for offences such as dangerous driving, possessing an offensive weapon and theft could be moved out of the Crown Courts.
‘Catastrophic consequences’
Richard Atkinson, president of the Law Society, says fixing the system will only work with fair funding.
“It’s as important as the NHS, it’s as important as the education system,” he says. “If it crumbles, there will be catastrophic consequences.”
Ms Jenkins agrees that for too long the system has been allowed to fail.
“Everyone deserves justice, this is just not the answer,” she says.
“It’s just the wrong solution to a problem that was caused by chronic, long-term under-investment in the criminal justice system, which is a vital public service.
“The only way to ensure that there’s timely and fair justice for everybody is to invest in all parts of the system from the bottom up: local services, probation, restorative justice, more funding for lawyers so we can give early advice, more funding for the police so that cases are better prepared.”
Government vows ‘bold and ambitious reform’
In response to Sky News’ findings, the minister for courts and legal services, Sarah Sackman KC MP, told Sky News: “We inherited a record and rising court backlog, leaving many victims facing unacceptable delays to see justice done.
“We’ve already boosted funding in our courts system, but the only way out of this crisis is bold and ambitious reform. That is why we are carefully considering Sir Brian’s bold recommendations for long-term change.
“I won’t hesitate to do whatever needs to be done for the benefit of victims.”
The driver that killed Diane’s husband was eventually convicted. She wants those making decisions about the court system to remember those impacted the most in every case.
Every victim and every family.
“You do just feel like a cog in a big wheel that’s out of your control,” she says. “Because you know justice delayed is justice denied.”
Nearly one in five doctors is considering quitting in the UK, new figures show, while one in eight is thinking about leaving the country to work abroad.
The General Medical Council (GMC), which commissioned the research, is warning that plans to cut hospital waiting lists will be at risk unless more is done to retain them.
By July 2029, the prime minister has said 92% of patients needing routine hospital treatment like hip and knee replacements will be seen within 18 weeks.
“[Poor staff retention] could threaten government ambitions to reduce waiting times and deliver better care to patients,” warned the authors of the GMC’s latest report.
The main reason doctors gave for considering moving abroad was they are “treated better” in other countries, while the second most common reason was better pay.
Some 43% said they had researched career opportunities in other countries, while 15% reported taking “hard steps” towards moving abroad, like applying for roles or contacting recruiters.
“Like any profession, doctors who are disillusioned with their careers will start looking elsewhere,” said Charlie Massey, chief executive of the GMC.
“Doctors need to be satisfied, supported, and see a hopeful future for themselves, or we may risk losing their talent and expertise altogether.”
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‘No doctor wants to go out on strike’
The report – which comes after a recent five-day walkout by resident doctors – is based on the responses of 4,697 doctors around the UK and also explores how they feel about career progression.
One in three said they are unable to progress their education, training and careers in the way they want.
Those who didn’t feel like their careers were progressing were at higher risk of burnout and were less satisfied with their work.
The GMC blamed workloads, competition for jobs, and lack of senior support for development for adversely impacting the career progression of UK doctors.
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‘They are losing the respect of the community’
‘Legitimate complaints’
The Department of Health and Social Care acknowledged doctors had suffered “more than a decade of neglect”.
“Doctors have legitimate complaints about their conditions, including issues with training bottlenecks and career progression,” said a spokesperson.
“We want to work with them to address these and improve their working lives, which includes our plans set out in the 10 Year Health Plan to prioritise UK graduates and increase speciality training posts.
“This government is committed to improving career opportunities and working conditions, bringing in ways to recognise and reward talent – as well as freeing up clinicians’ time by cutting red tape.”
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