Women's charity cuts ties with Russell Brand after allegations against comedian

A charity that’s centred on supporting women has cut ties with Russell Brand following the allegations of rape and sexual assault that have been made against him.

In a statement shared on Instagram, Trevi Women’s & Children’s Charity UK said that they were ‘deeply saddened and upset’ by stories that were featured in Channel 4’s programme Russell Brand: In Plain Sight: Dispatches, which aired on Saturday night.

The Times also published an article including allegations from four women, following an investigation conducted by The Sunday Times, The Times and Channel 4 Dispatches.

On Friday, prior to the Channel 4 programme airing or The Times article being published, Brand, 48, posted a video on social media in which he emphatically denied all allegations, saying that there were ‘some very serious allegations that I absolutely refute’.

In The Times piece, four women made allegations against the comedian, with one claiming that he assaulted her when she was 16 and still at school, while he was 31 years old.

Another woman claimed that he raped her against a wall in his Los Angeles home.

In their Instagram post, Trevi explained how Brand became involved in their charity last year.

‘We are deeply saddened and upset by the stories reported on this evening’s Channel 4 Dispatches programme regarding Russell Brand,’ the caption read.

‘Russell became aware of our charity in 2022 after hearing about some of the incredible mothers we have helped to become drug-free over the years. He wanted to support our cause and raise money through his Stay Free Foundation.

‘Today’s media revelations have been difficult to process but our priority remains and continues to be the safety and well-being of all women and girls now and in the future.

‘We have ended our association with Russell Brand and the Stay Free Foundation.’

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The statement continued: ‘As a charity whose values put women’s voices at the heart of what we do, we always prioritise supporting women affected by violence and abuse and empower them to live without violence and fear.

We understand that for some women, today’s media content could be triggering, and for those who may need support, please contact The Survivor Pathway. https://www.survivorpathway.org.uk.’

In his video posted on social media on Friday night, Brand said that he had been approached by a mainstream TV network and a mainstream newspaper with ‘extremely disturbing’ correspondence listing ‘a litany of extremely egregious and aggressive attacks’.

Stressing that there were ‘some very serious allegations that I absolutely refute’, he continued: ‘These allegations pertain to the time when I was working in the mainstream, when I was in the newspapers all the time, when I was in the movies.

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‘As I’ve written about extensively in my book, I was very, very promiscuous. Now during that time of promiscuity, the relationships that I had were absolutely always consensual. I was always transparent about that then, almost too transparent, and I’m being transparent about it now as well.

‘And to see that transparency metastasise into something criminal that I absolutely deny makes me question is there another agenda at play.’

The comic claimed that he had ‘witnesses whose evidence directly contradicts the narratives that these two mainstream media outlets are trying to construct, apparently in what seems to me to be a coordinated attack’.

‘Now, I don’t want to get into this any further because of the serious nature of the allegations, but I feel like I’m being attacked and plainly they are working very closely together,’ he said.

‘We are obviously going to look into this matter because it’s very, very serious.’

Metro.co.uk has contacted Russell Brand’s representatives for comment.

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