YouTube announced today, Tuesday, that it has banned Russell Brand from monetizing his channel following allegations of a series of sexual assaults against the British comedian. Brand, who was one of the leading comedians and broadcasters in Britain, said on Saturday that all his relationships were consensual. This came after The Sunday Times and the documentary program Dispatches on Channel 4 reported that four women accused the 48-year-old of sexual assaults, including one instance of rape, during the seven years when he was at the peak of his fame between 2006 and 2013.
The allegations have sparked shockwaves throughout the British media and dominated coverage since their emergence on Saturday. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) stated today that it has removed some programs featuring Brand from its iPlayer and Sounds platforms after deciding that some past television and radio content "no longer meets audience expectations." Caroline Dinenage, chair of the Parliamentary Culture, Media and Sport Committee, said she wrote to the BBC, Channel 4, GB News, and technology company TikTok regarding these allegations.
The Metropolitan Police in London announced yesterday that it has received a sexual assault allegation dating back to 2003. Brand, the ex-husband of American singer Katy Perry, has built a follower base of six million on his YouTube channel. Recent videos included an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson and discussions about various topics ranging from COVID-19 to unidentified flying objects, censorship, and wellness.
YouTube, owned by Alphabet, Google's parent company, stated that it suspended monetization on Brand's channel after he violated the platform's responsibility policy for content creators. A YouTube spokesman said, "If the behavior of a content creator off the platform harms our users, staff, or ecosystem, we take action to protect the community." Dinenage inquired whether Brand could still monetize his posts on TikTok and also requested reports from the BBC and Channel 4 regarding their investigations into the matter.
Brand released a video message on social media on Saturday denying "the very serious criminal allegations" just hours before they were made public. He stated, "These allegations pertain to a time when I was in the public eye, appearing in newspapers all the time as well as in films." He added, "My relationships have always been consensual."
