Scotland Yard detectives have interviewed Russell Brand over allegations of sexual offences, it is understood.
The comedian and actor is understood to have been interviewed under caution at a police station in south London last week.
The Metropolitan police did not name Brand, but in response to questions about an earlier statement saying the force had launched an inquiry into allegations after an investigation by Channel 4’s Dispatches and the Sunday Times, a spokesperson said: “A man in his 40s attended a police station in south London on Thursday, 16 November 2023. He was interviewed under caution by detectives in relation to three non-recent sexual offences. Enquiries continue.”
Brand has denied “very serious criminal allegations” and “extremely egregious and aggressive attacks”, which he said he “absolutely refutes”.
The joint media investigation into Brand, 48, reported in September that four women alleged he had sexually assaulted them at the height of his career between 2006 and 2013, when he was a BBC and Channel 4 presenter and a Hollywood actor.
Brand has denied the allegations and said his relationships were “always consensual”.
Last week, the BBC said that after a review, five complaints had now been made about Brand’s behaviour while he hosted BBC radio shows between 2006 and 2008.
In September, the Met said that after the Dispatches and Sunday Times investigation, it had “received a number of allegations of sexual offences in London. We have also received a number of allegations of sexual offences committed elsewhere in the country and will investigate these. The offences are all non-recent.”
Channel 4, where Brand also worked as a presenter, is conducting its own internal investigation.
Another company, Banijay UK, has also commissioned an investigation. Endemol, the production company behind shows on which Brand appeared in the mid-00s such as Big Brother’s Big Mouth, was bought by Banijay in 2020.
Brand has been approached for comment.
https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2023/nov/19/russell-brand-metropolitan-police-interview-allegations-london
