Investigation finds Russell Brand allegations were not 'properly handled'

Allegations about Russell Brand's behavior while working on programs for Channel 4 were not “properly addressed”, an investigation has heard.

Brand, 49, found himself at the center of a media storm last year when a Channel 4 documentary raised historic allegations of sexual assault.

This included predatory behavior while working on several of the channel's programs, including Big Brother's big mouth, Kings of comedy And The celebrity hijacking of Big Brother.

Brand has strongly denied all accusations regarding his behavior which allegedly took place at the height of his fame between 2006 and 2013.

Following the allegations, an investigation was launched by Banijay UK, which bought Endemol, the company commissioned by Channel 4 to produce the Big Brother spin-off shows EFourum, Big Brother's Big Mouth, Kings Of Comedy and Big Brother's Celebrity Hijack, on which Brand worked on. between 2004 and 2006 and in 2008.

In the journalistic investigation published last September, a researcher claimed that concerns about Brand's behavior had been raised with Endemol's production managers but had been dismissed.

Karen Baxter, head of investigations at law firm Lewis Silkin LLP, said: “No formal complaints were made against Brand during the programs.

“There were, however, concerns about Brand's behavior which were raised informally with senior members of staff, particularly in relation to his asking riders to obtain members' telephone numbers of the public and female crew members feeling uncomfortable or intimidated by his behavior while working in Bristol in 2004/2005.

“These concerns have not been properly reported or adequately addressed. »

In addition to being accused of sexual assault, including rape, the brand has been accused of controlling and coercive behavior.

Four women accused the star of historical misconduct in the documentary, Russell brand: in plain sightbroadcast last September.

One of Brand's accusers told how he allegedly raped her without a condom at her US home in Los Angeles, before stopping her from leaving.

She claims she was only able to do so by saying she needed to go to the bathroom and then sought treatment at a rape crisis center, which the Times confirmed via his medical file.

Los Angeles police said at the time that they had not been informed of “any incidents, reports or allegations involving Russell Brand or any of the accusers.”

Further allegations against the comedian emerged following the documentary, including the claim he exposed himself to a woman and then joked about it on his Radio 2 show.

In a statement released earlier this year, Brand called the documentary “hurtful” because he had been accused of “what I consider to be the most appalling crimes.”

He said: “I am aware that I am putting myself in an extremely vulnerable position by being very, very promiscuous, (but) that is not the type of conduct that I approve of and that is certainly not how I would live now. »

Patrick Holland, chief executive of Banijay UK, apologized to “anyone affected” and feeling “unable to speak out or that their voice was not properly heard”.

In a statement, Mr Holland said: “Dispatches contained deeply disturbing allegations regarding Russell Brand's behavior while he worked for the former Endemol company.

“I am grateful to Lewis Silkin for this in-depth report and the lessons we can learn from it.

“Although Endemol had support and escalation procedures in place during the period in question, they were clearly not understood and respected to the extent that we expected today and were not not as robust as our current UK and group-wide processes.

“Industry protocols, duty of care and behavioral expectations have improved significantly in recent years and continue to be reviewed and progressively updated on a regular basis.

“We are extremely sorry to anyone who was affected by this behavior and felt unable to speak out or that their voice was not properly heard.”

Earlier this year, Channel 4 boss Alex Mahon apologized to a former staff member for failing to investigate a “serious” allegation made against Brand in 2009 following Channel 4's own investigation. chain.

However, the channel found “no evidence” that Channel 4 staff were aware of accusations made by four women in a Dispatches documentary before it was broadcast in September.

Brand, who also worked on BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 6 Music from 2006 to 2008, told former Fox News host Tucker Carlson in a YouTube video earlier this year that the allegations against were “very, very hurtful” to him.

The independent has contacted a representative of Russell Brand, Channel 4 and Radio 2 for comment.

The actor denies all allegations made against him.