When comedian-turned-conservative influencer Russell Brand preemptively denied sexual assault allegations Friday, he invoked a conspiracy theory that quickly found traction among his supporters and other far-right voices: that media had ulterior motives for publishing stories about him. .
“Is there another agenda at play?” » he asked in his pre-emptive video response to the investigation published on Saturday by The Times and Channel 4, which documented four allegations of sexual assault made against him.
Deep skepticism of the media has become fundamental to many conservatives over the past decade, and Brand’s invocation of that skepticism quickly found support among members of his online conservative cohort, including Elon Musk and Tucker Carlson.
The Times on Saturday published its investigative report, carried out in collaboration with the Sunday Times and Channel 4, in which women accused him of sexual assaults which allegedly took place between 2006 and 2013. Brand’s management agency, Tavistock Wood Management, quickly severed its ties with him. after the report was made public, writing that he had been “horribly misled by it”.
Brand posted his response video to YouTube, X and the conservative video site Rumble, hinting at the upcoming report and warning his followers of its veracity. Brand has denied the allegations, saying all of his past sexual relationships have been consensual.
YouTube said Tuesday it blocked Brand from making money from its platform following the sexual assault allegations. The online platform said in a statement that it had “suspended monetization” on Brand’s channel for violating its “creator accountability policy.”
“If a creator’s off-platform behavior harms our users, our employees, or our ecosystem, we take action to protect the community,” YouTube said.
The move will likely be a blow to Brand, who has 6.6 million subscribers on YouTube, where he has peddled conspiracy theories on topics like Covid-19 and the war in Ukraine. He has 11.2 million followers on X, formerly Twitter, and 1.4 million on Rumble, where his account is among the most followed.
Conservative internet figures, however, followed Brand’s lead, using conspiracy theories to attack the allegations, and found a largely friendly audience on platforms that have forgone content moderation.
X owner Elon Musk and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson quickly defended Brand, implying that the allegations were made because of Brand’s criticism of the media.
“Of course. They don’t like competition,” Musk said. replied to Brand’s video.
Carlson linked the allegations against Brand more directly to his politics.
“Criticize pharmaceutical companies, question the war in Ukraine, and you can be pretty sure this is going to happen,” Carlson wrote.
Neither Carlson nor Musk have discussed the allegations in detail. The Times reported that the four women who made sexual assault allegations against Brand in their investigative report did not previously know each other. Journalists spent several years interviewing hundreds of people, the report also said.
Some other conservative influencers, including Ian Miles Cheong, added to the backlash, with Cheong likening the accusations against Brand to those made against other high-profile men.
Brand, once a popular mainstream comedian who had starring roles in films such as “Get Him to the Greek” and “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” has in recent years become a popular figure in conservative circles for his straight-to-the-front videos. the camera in which he targets numerous far-right targets.
Brand has made criticism of the media a central part of his message, noting in his response video that he sets out to “criticize, attack and undermine information.”
These criticisms have resonated on X, particularly among Musk and his allies, who have also been staunch critics of the media. Musk has tweeted at least three times in support of Brand since Friday, publication Sunday evening: “I support Russell Brand. This man is not bad.
Andrew Tate, a men’s rights influencer who is awaiting trial in Romania after being charged with suspicion of human trafficking and rape, posted “Welcome to the Club” on X and tagged Brand’s account on Saturday above an image referring to “a crazy bitch”. allegations. »
Jake Shields, a former UFC fighter who has espoused conservative views online and has nearly 400,000 followers on X, repeatedly posted about the allegations over the weekend, including an insinuating post that the Times article contained “false rape allegations” and said: “It would be nice to see some of these girls face long prison sentences.” »
X’s view count metrics, which have been the subject of some skepticism, have shown that many efforts to cast doubt on the claims have gained traction. The temperature’ own thread on on the investigation received 15.5 million views, according to the platform, a quarter of the views recorded by Brand’s preventive video.
A search for “Russell Brand” – still a hot topic Monday – turned up posts questioning the claims. None of the first 20 posts in the search results contained links to reports about the new allegations.
Instead, top search results for “Russell Brand” on X suggest that Brand is “‘attacked'” for his views on Covid-19 and Ukraine. Many articles also criticize the mainstream and traditional media in general, claiming that the media called Brand “guilty” and provided no evidence for the allegations against him.
