The BBC has announced it is “urgently investigating the issues” raised by allegations of sexual assault against British actor Russell Brand, who denies the allegations and has worked for the broadcaster for four years, Reuters reports.
Russell BrandPhoto: Euan Cherry / Avalon / Profimedia
Brand, 48, the ex-husband of US singer Katy Perry, worked at BBC radio between 2006 and 2008.
He denied unspecified “very serious criminal charges” on Saturday hours before allegations of sexual assault, including rape, were published online by the Sunday Times newspaper and later reported on Channel 4 television.
The Times and the documentary series Dispatches reported the alleged incidents took place between 2006 and 2013 and said one woman made a rape allegation, while another said Brand assaulted her when she was 16 and he was still at school.
Two of the women reported the incidents took place in Los Angeles, the paper said.
A BBC spokesman: “The documentaries and associated reports contained serious allegations spanning several years. Russell Brand worked on BBC radio programs between 2006 and 2008 and we are urgently looking into the issues raised.”
Women’s organization Trevi, which helps women affected by violence and abuse, said it had ended its association with Brand, and Tavistock Wood, a talent agency, said it had “ceased all professional links with Brand”.
“Russell Brand categorically and vehemently denied the allegation made in 2020, but we now believe we have been terribly misled by him,” the statement said.
London’s Metropolitan Police said it had not received any reports about the allegations.
“If anyone believes they have been the victim of a sexual assault, regardless of how long ago it happened, we would encourage them to contact the police,” police said in a statement.
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