English comedian Russell Brand was set to perform a handful of stand-up shows in the UK, but in light of recent sexual assault allegations, his upcoming gigs have been scratched.
Brand was slated to appear at the sold-out Theatre Royal Windsor show on Tuesday as a part of his Bipolarisation Tour, following a gig of 2,000 fans at London’s Wembley on Saturday. However, on Monday, Brand’s tour promoters released a statement, noting that his future shows are called-off for now.
“We are postponing these few remaining addiction charity fundraiser shows, we don’t like doing it – but we know you’ll understand,” the promoter said.
The postponement follows a joint investigation by The Times of London, The Sunday Times and the Channel 4 documentary “Dispatches” over the weekend where four women accused Brand of sexual assault, including one woman claiming she was raped.
Additionally, The New York Times reported that London’s police force “received a report of a sexual assault which was alleged to have taken place in Soho in central London in 2003.”
Since the allegations came to light, BBC and Banijay — Brand’s former employers at the time the allegations took place — have launched an investigation into the claims. Additionally, Brand’s publishing deal with Pan Macmillan imprint Bluebird was suspended, as the imprint claimed “these are very serious allegations.”
The Curtis Brown-owned literary and talent agency Tavistock Wood “terminated all professional ties” to Brand. YouTube also released a statement noting that monetization of Brand’s account, which has 6.6 million subscribers, has been suspended “following serious allegations against the creator.”
Brand has vehemently denied the allegations in a video posted to his YouTube channel
“Amidst this litany of astonishing, rather baroque attacks are some very serious allegations that I absolutely refute,” Brand said in the video.
He noted that all of his past sexual encounters were “always consensual.”
On Friday, the BBC reported another allegation against the comedian; he allegedly exposed himself to a woman in 2008, and minutes later, joked about it on his BBC Radio 2 show. BBC said Brand was recorded on-air with co-host Matt Morgan where he said he just “showed his willy to a lady.”
A BBC spokesperson told People they are “very sorry to hear” about the incident and are reviewing the allegation.
