BBC Removes Russell Brand Content For “Falling Below Public Expectations”
The BBC has followed Channel 4’s lead by removing TV and audio shows that feature Russell Brand.
“We’ve reviewed the content and made a considered decision to remove some of it, having assessed that it now falls below public expectations,” said a spokesperson for the BBC. They added that the BBC “does not ban or remove content when it is a matter of public record unless we have justification for doing so.”
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The BBC did not say which shows have been removed but an episode of QI titled The Occult that Brand was guest on is no longer on BBC iPlayer and an edition of The Joe Wicks Podcast with Brand appears to have been removed from BBC Sounds.
The BBC followed Channel 4’s lead on the move, with Channel 4 yesterday removing old episodes of Big Brother’s Big Mouth and The Great British Bake Off. Both broadcasters along with Big Brother producer Banijay are investigating historical allegations made against Brand over the weekend, with four women accusing the presenter, comedian and Hollywood actor of various allegations ranging from rape to sexual assault. Brand vehemently denies the claims and has said all of his relationships were consensual. He has not commented since publishing a video across his social media channels in which he preemptively denied the “litany” of allegations about his criminal behavior.
In today’s other big development, YouTube, on which Brand has amassed 6.6M subscribers, suspended revenue on his channel.
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