Russell Brand allegations timeline: What has he been accused of in the past few days?

Russell Brand is being investigated by the Metropolitan Police, the BBC, Channel 4 and a production company following allegations of rape, sexual assault and emotional abuse against him.

The 48-year-old comedian and actor has denied the claims, saying all of his relationships have been “consensual”.

Brand is facing sexual assault allegations from four women which allegedly occurred between 2006 and 2013, as well as claims of controlling, abusive and predatory behaviour, following a joint investigation by The Sunday Times, The Times and Channel 4 Dispatches.

Latest – Read the latest updates on the Russell Brand allegations HERE

The Metropolitan Police has confirmed it has received an allegation of sexual assault dating back to 2003.

Yahoo News UK examines the timeline of the allegations made against Russell Brand:

Friday 15 September

Russell Brand posts a video on social media before details of the allegations are published, in which he speaks to camera and denies the claims.

“Amidst this litany of astonishing, rather baroque attacks are some very serious allegations that I absolutely refute,” he says.

“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, and as I’ve written about extensively in my books I was very, very promiscuous.

“Now during that time of promiscuity the relationships I had were absolutely, always consensual.”

Brand claims he is the subject of a “co-ordinated attack”.

Russell Brand denied the allegations in a video posted on his social media channels. (Russell Brand)

– Russell Brand denies ‘serious criminal allegations’ he claims are being made against him (Sky News)

Saturday 16 September

The Times, The Sunday Times and Channel 4 Dispatches publish their investigation, detailing the allegations made against Brand by four women.

One alleges that Brand raped her against a wall in his home in Los Angeles; a second says he assaulted her in the UK when she was 16 and still at school; a third says Brand sexually assaulted her while she worked with him in Los Angeles, and a fourth woman alleges Brand sexually assaulted her and was physically and emotionally abusive.

In the 90-minute Dispatches special, titled Russell Brand: In Plain Sight, he is accused of pursuing audience members for sex while presenting Big Brother spin-off shows EFourum and Big Brother’s Big Mouth on Channel 4, while other allegations related to when he was a radio presenter for the BBC.

– Dispatches – How to watch the Russell Brand: In Plain Sight investigation (National World)

Watch: Russell Brand makes swift exit from theatre after gig

As Dispatches airs, Brand performs a comedy gig to thousands of people at the Troubadour Wembley Park theatre in north-west London as part of his Bipolarisation tour.

He turns up in a black Mercedes 46 minutes late to the sold-out gig, which was due to start at 7pm but doesn’t begin until after 8pm.

Brand briefly addresses the allegations made against him while on stage, saying he hoped the crowd “appreciate” there are certain things he can not talk about.

Russell Brand leaves the Troubabour Wembley Park theatre in north-west London after performing a comedy show. (PA Images via Getty Images)

– Russell Brand plays show in 2,000-seat theatre despite sexual assault allegations (Independent)

Sunday 17 September

Channel 4 announces it is conducting “its own internal investigation” after the allegations against Brand and encourages “anyone who is aware of such behaviour” to contact them.

Production company Banijay UK, which bought Endemol in 2020, also announces it is launching an “urgent internal investigation” and encourages “anybody who feels that they were affected by Brand’s behaviour while working on these productions” to contact them.

The BBC says it is “urgently looking into the issues raised” while Brand worked on BBC radio programmes between 2006 and 2008.

The Metropolitan Police says the force will speak to The Sunday Times and Channel 4 to ensure “any victims of crime who they have spoken with are aware of how they may report any criminal allegations to police”.

The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) says they do not have an open investigation into Brand, and another confirms there have been no arrests following two allegations that are said to have happened in the US.

Russell Brand has denied the allegations made against him. (PA)

– Investigation launched after claims of misconduct by Russell Brand on TV shows (PA Media)

Monday 18 September

It is reported that more women have come forward with further claims against Brand.

“Several women” are said to have contacted The Times and The Sunday Times in the wake of their joint investigation with Channel 4 Dispatches.

The Times says the new allegations have not yet been investigated and will now “be rigorously checked”.

– Russell Brand faces further claims as more women reportedly come forward (PA Media)

Brand’s publisher announces it “pausing” all of his future book projects after the allegations against him.

Bluebird, an imprint of Pan Macmillan, has published Brand’s titles including Recovery: Freedom From Our Addictions and Mentors: How To Help And Be Helped in recent years.

The company said: “These are very serious allegations and in the light of them, Bluebird has taken the decision to pause all future publishing with Russell Brand.”

An upcoming title by Brand, Recovery: The Workbook, was due to be published by Bluebird in December 2025.

– Russell Brand publisher pauses work with comedian after allegations (Independent)

The Metropolitan Police reveals that it has received a report of an alleged sexual assault following news reports about Brand.

The force says it has received an allegation of sexual assault in Soho, central London, in 2003.

Russell Brand hosting the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles. (AP Photo)

In a statement, it said: “Officers are in contact with the woman and will be providing her with support.

“We first spoke with The Sunday Times on Saturday 16 September and have since made further approaches to The Sunday Times and Channel 4 to ensure that anyone who believes they have been the victim of a sexual offence is aware of how to report this to the police.”

The woman who reported the alleged sexual assault had not spoken to The Sunday Times.

– Russell Brand: Metropolitan police confirm report of sexual assault (Digital Spy)

The promoters of Brand’s stand-up show postpone the remainder of his tour in the wake of the allegations.

A performance slated for Tuesday at the Theatre Royal Windsor in Berkshire was postponed, with the show’s promoters saying in a statement shared by the theatre: “We are postponing these few remaining addiction charity fundraiser shows, we don’t like doing it – but we know you’ll understand.”

Brand had also been due to perform at two more venues this month, including The Pavilions in Plymouth on Friday, and The Civic At The Halls in Wolverhampton next Thursday.

– Russell Brand tour dates postponed as Met receives report of alleged sex assault (PA Media)

Tuesday 19 September

YouTube stops Brand from making money on its platform because of the rape and sexual assault allegations against him.

The Google-owned company says it has suspended the monetisation of Brand’s channel because he was “violating” its “creator responsibility policy”.

It said in a statement: “If a creator’s off-platform behaviour harms our users, employees or ecosystem, we take action to protect the community.”

Brand’s YouTube account, which has 6.6 million subscribers, has been suspended from YouTube’s Partner account “following serious allegations against the creator”, meaning the channel is no longer able to make money from advertising on the platform.

The statement says: “This decision applies to all channels that may be owned or operated by Russell Brand.”

YouTube has suspended monetisation of Russell Brand’s channel for ‘violating policy’. (Alamy/YouTube)

– YouTube suspends Russell Brand’s channel from making money after allegations (Evening Standard)

The BBC removes some programmes featuring Brand from its iPlayer and Sounds apps.

A BBC spokesman said: “The BBC does not ban or remove content when it is a matter of public record, unless we have justification for doing so.

“There is limited content featuring Russell Brand on iPlayer and Sounds. We’ve reviewed that content and made a considered decision to remove some of it, having assessed that it now falls below public expectations.”

– BBC removes some Russell Brand content from iPlayer and Sounds apps (The National)