YouTube said Tuesday that Russell Brand will no longer make money from the video streaming site after multiple women came forward with sexual assault allegations against the comedian-turned-influencer.
YouTube said monetization of Brand’s account, which has 6.6 million subscribers, has been suspended “following serious allegations against the creator.”
“This decision applies to all channels that may be owned or operated by Russell Brand,” the Google-owned video service said.
The suspension means Brand will not be able to make money from ads that run in and alongside YouTube videos, which have titles including “What REALLY started the Hawaii fires?” and “Covid Tsar admits lockdowns were NEVER a question of science.”
Other channels associated with Brand’s main YouTube page include Awakening With Russell, which has 426,000 subscribers, Football Is Nice, which has about 20,000 subscribers, and Stay Free With Russell Brand, which has 22,200 subscribers.
Russell Brand addressed the allegations made against him in a YouTube video on his channel. Youtube
Brand still has a presence on Rumble, a video site popular with some conservatives and far-right groups, where his channel has 1.4 million followers.
He also has 11.2 million followers on X, formerly known as Twitter, and 3.8 million on Instagram.
Brand, 48, denies allegations of sexual assault made by four women in a Channel 4 television documentary and in The Times and Sunday Times newspapers.
Photo Library via Getty Images
The accusers, who have not been identified, 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.
The four allegations date from between 2006 and 2013. London’s Metropolitan Police said that since those allegations became public, it has received a report of a separate sexual assault dating back to 2003.
Known for his wild and daring routines, Brand was a major star in the United Kingdom in the early 2000s.
He hosted radio and television shows, wrote memoirs describing his battles with drugs and alcohol, appeared in several Hollywood films and was briefly married to pop star Katy Perry from 2010 to 2012.
In recent years, Brand has largely disappeared from mainstream media, but has built a large following online with videos that mix wellness and conspiracy theories.
His YouTube channel has featured COVID-19 conspiracy theories, vaccine misinformation, and interviews with controversial hosts including Tucker Carlson and Joe Rogan.
Brand leaves the Troubabour Wembley Park theater in northwest London after performing a comedy set on September 16, 2023.AP
He also continued to tour as a comedian, performing for hundreds of people at a London venue on Saturday.
He was due to perform on Tuesday in Windsor, west London, but promoters said the rest of the tour would be postponed following the allegations.
Brand has also been fired from his talent agency and an editor since the allegations became public.
Ellie Tomsett, senior lecturer in media and communications at Birmingham City University, said it was too early to say whether the claims would end Brand’s comedy career.
“I think there’s definitely a market for ‘outsider’ comedians… or people who want to position themselves as some form or alternative to the current understanding of gender equality,” she said.
“And so I think in the long run, will it impact his career in the way we hope? Possibly not.”
Categories: Trending
Source: vtt.edu.vn