LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM: As many expected, authorities have finally launched an official criminal investigation against Russell Brand.
The comedian faces several sexual assault allegations within his country as well as in California.
These attacks reportedly took place between 2003 and 2013. The Met Police, in a latest statement, said that they have launched an investigation into the claims, referring to Channel 4’s Dispatches document and The Sunday Times’ report.
It said, “[We have received] a number of allegations of sexual assault in London.” After the probe was announced by the officials, he posted on X (formerly Twitter), "Are we being silenced?" and shared a link to a video on the social media site Rumble.
Russell Brand alleges the UK government of conspiring against him
In his clip, he targeted the government and claimed they were pursuing a conspiracy against him.
The 48-year-old told his followers that they are trying to prevent him from sharing his ‘theories and making money from social media,’ reports The Sun.
The livestream called ‘The Battle For Free Speech’ hit home among his 1.61 million followers as many donated money in the comment section.
The Met Police shared that all the allegations against Brand under investigation are from the past. The alleged victims have been offered special support and have come forward.
"We continue to encourage anyone who believes they may have been a victim of a sexual offense, no matter how long ago it was, to contact us,” said Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy.
“We understand it can feel like a difficult step to take and I want to reassure that we have a team of specialist officers available to advise and support,” Furphy added.
Russell Brand's first reaction to sexual assault allegations
Russell Brand reacted to sexual assault allegations against him for the first time via a video message recently.
"Hello there you awakening wonders, obviously it's been an extraordinary and distressing week and I thank you very much for your support and for questioning the information that you have been presented with," he began.
"By now, you're probably aware that the British government has asked big tech platforms to censor our online content and that some online platforms have complied with that request," he continued.
He further said, "What you may not know is that this happens in the context of the online safety bill which is a piece of UK legislation that grants sweeping surveillance and censorship powers and it's a law that's already been passed."
Last week, YouTube suspended Brand’s channel from making any money. YouTube stated the account with 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,” said the Google-owned video service.
Some other channels associated with Brand’s main YouTube page include ‘Awakening With Russell,’ with 426,000 subscribers, ‘Football Is Nice,’ which has some 20,000 subscribers, and ‘Stay Free With Russell Brand,’ which has 22,200 subscribers.
