Russell Brand Accused of Exposing Himself to Woman in BBC Office
The BBC is finally investigating Russell Brand’s behavior from 15 years ago after a woman resurfaced her allegation that he exposed himself to her and laughed about it on the air. BBC reports that the woman, identified anonymously as Olivia, said she told BBC staff about the incident several times over the years and that, in the BBC’s words, “they would laugh it off.”
The alleged incident, which comes on the heels of several women accusing Brand of rape and sexual assault, occurred on June 16, 2008, at the network’s Los Angeles studio where Brand recorded The Russell Brand Show, which aired on BBC Radio 2 from 2006 to 2008. Olivia, who worked in the building for another media company, said she’d let Brand into the studio. She felt someone behind her while she was in the bathroom, crouching to find sinus medication in a medicine cabinet, when she turned around. She claims Brand was standing in front of her with his crotch in her face.
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She said he hit on her (“Oh, I think you’re a bit alright”) and told her he wanted to call her Betty. When Olivia said that wasn’t her name, he allegedly replied, “Well, I’m gonna fuck you.” When she told him he would not, she alleges he took out his penis and “pretty much served it to me as you would be serving someone some food.” Because the door was closed, she felt trapped.
Olivia texted a colleague from the BBC about it who informed her that Brand was talking about it in the studio. The program aired days later, on June 21, with Brand and cohost Matt Morgan seeming to discuss the incident. “It’s been 25 minutes since he showed his willy to a lady,” Morgan said, later calling her a receptionist. “Very easy to judge,” Brand said, and seemed to pantomime what happened, saying, “Look.” Morgan also said, “He got told off for ringing a bell, minutes later he’s showing his willy.”
“I feel ashamed,” Olivia told the BBC now, “but more so I wonder had something been done, perhaps there would have been fewer women he would have done horrible things to, which we’re reading about in the papers now.” Although she never lodged a complaint, she said she hoped someone from the BBC would have heard the exchange on the air and investigated. “I thought perhaps that particular audio — because it was so graphic — had been cut out, which is probably why I never pursued it,” she said. “Had I known audio existed, I probably would have done something as the incident would have been corroborated.”
The article says that BBC management learned of the incident in 2019 but that no one approached her about it. The BBC’s Director General Tim Davie has said that the company would look into Brand’s behavior during his time at the network, before he resigned in 2008 after he and Jonathan Ross left obscene voicemails on actor Andrew Sachs’ voicemail.
“We would be very keen to hear from her and anyone else who may have information,” the BBC said in a statement. “We will of course speak to the bureau team and anyone who was working there in 2008 as part of this. Further, the Director General has been very clear that some broadcasts from that period were, and are, inexcusable and totally unacceptable, and would never be aired today.” (A rep for Brand did not immediately reply to a request for comment.)
On Saturday, a Times investigation and a U.K. TV news show, Dispatches, both reported that four women had accused Brand of rape and sexual assaults occurring between 2008 and 2013. Brand denied the allegations, but his agent dropped him and his U.K. book publisher chose to pause Brand-related releases. Police in the U.K. said Monday that they received another sexual assault allegation.
Prior to the weekend’s reports, Brand released a video in which he said he “absolutely refutes” the allegations, calling them “extremely egregious and aggressive attacks.” YouTube has chosen to keep him on the platform.
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