LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Years before sexual assault allegations emerged against Russell Brand, he made a "depraved" TV documentary in which he befriended a heroin addict, whom he later offered £50 ($61) to sleep with his prostitute girlfriend.
During the filming, Brand and his former comedy co-host Matt Morgan lived with the couple and their toddler daughter at their Norwich home.
The 48-year-old disgraced comedian, who was still a heroin addict himself at the time, previously admitted that he used the substance “with them [the couple] the whole time we were making the program.”
The disturbing incident is a new low for Brand, who is facing rape and sexual assault charges by four women, including one who alleges that he sexually attacked her when she was just 16 years old.
What did Matt Morgan say about Russell Brand’s shelved documentary?
Earlier this year, Morgan recounted working on the "comedy" docuseries 'RE: Brand' for the now-defunct channel Play UK, where they recorded one episode while living with the heroin-dependent couple.
The 'RE: Brand' was permanently shelved when the boss of the company behind the show called social services after being shown the disturbing footage, according to Daily Mail.
“The guy who ran the production company watched it and said, ‘This can't go on telly because they'll lose custody of their child,’” Morgan said on the 'Blethered' podcast.
The show, which was produced by Vera Productions, was widely lauded by Brand and Morgan as a means of examining the question of whether "anyone would sleep with prostitutes if they weren't able to dehumanize them."
Morgan claimed that after spending a week "helping" the couple, Brand came to the boyfriend and said, "I want to give you 50 quid . . . I'm going to have sex with her.”
He continued by remembering how the boyfriend “started crying . . . it was actually really beautiful and in the end they all cried . . . it was properly mental. It took me about two or three days to come back to my normal life to unpack it all. It was almost like you needed counseling.”
An unidentified source with knowledge of the show recently told Daily Mail that "it was all rather depraved, dirty and squalid."
In the podcast, Morgan also stated that the heroin-addicted couple’s situation was "f****** tragic".
“She was on the game supporting hers and his heroin addiction, and there was a kid in the house, and that was why we couldn't show it,” he explained.
“There were points where they were all 'gouching' – nodding off on smack, with this poor little kid running around. So you're making this documentary but I'm making a sandwich for this little kid because no one else is, and it was just tragic, it was awful,” he added.
How does Russell Brand reflect on his proposal?
In his memoir 'My Booky Wook', Brand made mention of the incident and claimed that the woman was "pimped out" by her companion.
He said the man's tearful response to his cash-for-sex proposal made him feel terrible, "but I still thought, 'This is what you're doing every day, it's just that you've got to know me.'"
Brand later reflected on the idea behind his shelved docu-series and revealed how he called his mother and asked for permission to let "loads of prostitutes" live in her house.
“One discarded 'RE: Brand' idea which it's probably best we didn't follow up was: 'Let's get loads of prostitutes, make them live with my mum, and she'll be their pimp' . . . I remember the phone call very clearly: 'Mum, can I have loads of prostitutes come and live round your house for a TV program?”
“'Yeah OK,' she replied in that same soft and gentle voice she always used as she continued resolutely in her mission to love me,” the disgraced actor wrote.
