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A clip of Russell Brand joking about rape has resurfaced after he was convicted of sexually assaulting three women and raping a fan at the height of his fame.
The 51-year-old was once one of Britain’s best-known stand-up comedians and crossed over to find fame in Hollywood, but is now facing what could potentially be years behind bars.
On Thursday at Southwark Crown Court, a jury found him guilty of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault. He was cleared of two further charges of rape and one allegation of attempted indecent assault.
Since the verdict was handed down, a video of Brand on Channel 4’s The Big Fat Quiz of the Year in 2007 has gone viral on social media. It sees Brand joking about rape alongside Jonathan Ross, Noel Fielding and host Jimmy Carr.
The supposed joke revolved around Lily Allen, who was also a guest on the panel show. Ross voiced his ‘concern’ for her, given that she was sat in close proximity to Fielding and Brand, who he described as ‘two of the best-known c***smen in the business’.
Ross then insisted he swap chairs with Allen, so she could sit closer to Rob Brydon and David Mitchell on the episode of the programme and ‘might go home with her dress still on’.
Fielding then interjected: ‘How dare you, we’re not rapists,’ to a big laugh from the studio audience.
Carr then questioned why Fielding was wearing a cape for the show ‘if [he] wasn’t a rapist’ and the Mighty Boosh star said that he was wearing a Jack the Ripper cape.
‘He wasn’t a rapist, he was a…,’ Fielding said, prompting Brand to finish the sentence with: ‘Serial murderer.’
Brand then added: ‘There is no direct corollary between rapes and capes; it’s just a rhyme. Leave him alone. What if, horror of horrors, he ain’t even done a rape? You could ruin his reputation,’ which also got a laugh from the audience at the Channel 4 recording.
The resurfaced clip has been viewed 2million times on X and has elicited comments describing it as ‘sickening’, particularly given that Allen was the only woman present during the extended joke.
The singer reflected on the exchange in a 2023 interview, in the wake of initial allegations of sexual assault against Brand, which were jointly investigated by The Sunday Times and Channel 4 Dispatches.
The investigation published accusations from women who said they had been raped, sexually abused and degraded by Brand.
Allen subsequently told Grazia UK that she had seen the panel show clip circulating, recalling how ‘there are comments, I think, about me being raped or something.’
She continued: ‘And I laugh along with it. In retrospect, that’s really horrendous. It makes me uncomfortable, but I don’t think I felt that at the time, because it was the culture.’
The shamed comedian-turned-conspiracy theorist will now spend the weekend in custody before he returns to court on Monday to learn his prison sentence.
The Met has also confirmed investigations are ongoing into two allegations of rape made against Brand.
Metro contacted Noel Fielding, Jonathan Ross and Jimmy Carr’s representatives for comment.