Russell Brand has denied the allegations and said he has never had non-consensual sex.
London:
British police said on Monday they had launched an investigation into a number of allegations of non-recent sex crimes, following media reports that four women had accused actor and comedian Russell Brand of a series of sex crimes.
Earlier this month, the Sunday Times newspaper and Channel 4 TV’s documentary ‘Dispatches’ reported that the women had accused Brand, 48, of sexual offenses including rape between 2006 and 2013.
Brand has rejected the “very serious criminal charges” and says on his social media channels that he has never had non-consensual sex.
“Following an investigation by Channel 4’s Dispatches and The Sunday Times, the Met has received a number of allegations of sexual offenses in London,” London’s Metropolitan Police said in a statement.
“We have also received a number of allegations of sexual offenses elsewhere in the country and will investigate these.”
Police declined to provide details of the dates, number of incidents or details of the crimes investigated.
However, last week, following the reports, police said they had received an allegation of a sexual assault alleged to have taken place in Soho, central London, in 2003.
“We continue to encourage anyone who believes they have been a victim of a sexual offense, no matter how long ago, to contact us,” said Detective Chief Inspector Andy Furphy, who is leading the investigation.
Since the allegations were first published and broadcast, the British media has detailed other accounts from women of inappropriate behavior by Brand, the former husband of American singer Katy Perry and once one of the nation’s most high-profile comedians and presenters. country.
It also led to his promoters announcing that the remaining dates of a stand-up tour he was on had been postponed, while YouTube said last Tuesday that it was preventing Brand from making money from his online channel.
Brand accused ‘big tech’, the government and the mainstream media of trying to eliminate independent voices as he began his regular broadcast on Monday on the online video site Rumble, where he has 1.6 million followers.
However, he did not immediately refer to the sex crime allegations.
Canada-based platform Rumble has rejected calls from British lawmakers and others to stop Brand, who has starred in a number of films including “Get Him to the Greek,” from making money from the site.
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