Last week, a large-scale investigative report revealed multiple accusations of sexual assault against comedian, influencer and conspiracy theorist Russell Brand. In the wake of that report, a number of companies paused or outright ended their relationships with Brand, including his publisher, YouTube and the nonprofit group Trevi. Prior to the release of the investigative report, Brand — who has increasingly embraced conspiracy theories in recent years — argued that the allegations were the result of, you guessed it, a conspiracy.
As Nadeem Badshah reported at The Guardian, Brand has now released a follow-up message, and it also abounds with conspiracy theories. Brand posted a short video to both Rumble and the social network formerly known as Twitter; in it, he hailed himself as an independent voice in media and argued that governments and large tech companies were trying to censor him.
“The trusted news initiative is a collaboration between big tech and legacy media organisations to target, control, choke and shut down independent media organisations like this one,” Brand said in his statement.
Russell Brand Faces Multiple Sexual Assault Accusations
His defense involves conspiracy theoriesTo point out the obvious, Brand’s criticisms of the trusted news initiative — and some additional comments he made about the U.K.’s online safety bill — would feel a lot more resonant if they were not being made by someone who could literally be charged for multiple crimes. Either way, Brand’s latest missive is unlikely to be the last word on the subject.
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