U.K. police urged to investigate sex assault allegations against comedian Russell Brand
CTV
Senior British politicians on Monday urged police to investigate sexual assault allegations against Russell Brand, as the U.K. entertainment industry faced questions about whether the comedian's bad behaviour went unchallenged because of his fame.
Senior British politicians on Monday urged police to investigate sexual assault allegations against Russell Brand, as the U.K. entertainment industry faced questions about whether the comedian's bad behaviour went unchallenged because of his fame.
Brand denies allegations of sexual assault made by four women in a Channel 4 television documentary and The Times and Sunday Times newspapers. The accusers, who have not been named, include one who said she was sexually assaulted during a relationship with him when she was 16. Another woman says Brand raped her in Los Angeles in 2012.
Brand, 48, has rejected all the claims, saying in a video statement that his relationships were "always consensual."
The Times said Monday that more women had contacted the newspaper with allegations against Brand and they would be "rigorously checked."
Max Blain, spokesman for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, said the claims were "very serious and concerning," and those making the allegations should be "treated seriously and treated with sensitivity."
Conservative legislator Caroline Nokes, who chairs the House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee, urged police in both Britain and the United States to investigate the "incredibly shocking" allegations.
"This merits and needs a criminal investigation, because for too long we have seen men -- and the perpetrators of these sorts of crimes are almost invariably men -- not being held to account for their behaviours and their actions," she told BBC radio.
