YouTube suspends Russell Brand from making money after sexual assault claims

YouTube suspends Russell Brand from making money after sexual assault claims
YouTube says Russell Brand will not earn cash from the video streaming web site after a number of girls made allegations of sexual assault in opposition to the comedian-turned-influencer.

YouTube mentioned monetisation of Brand’s account, which has 6.6 million subscribers, has been suspended “following serious allegations against the creator”.

“This choice applies to all channels that could be owned or operated by Russell Brand,” the Google-owned video service said.

Russell Brand denies sexual assault allegations
Russell Brand, pictured here in a YouTube video he released denying the accusations levelled against him, has become a successful wellness influencer on the platform. (YouTube)

Brand, 48, denies allegations of sexual assault made by four women in a Channel 4 television documentary and The Times and Sunday Times newspapers.

The accusers, who have not been named, include one who said she was sexually assaulted during a relationship with him when she was 16.

Another woman says Brand raped her in Los Angeles in 2012.

The four allegations date from between 2006 and 2013.

London’s Metropolitan Police force said that since those claims were made public it had received a report of a separate sexual assault dating from 2003.

Promoters postponed the remaining dates in a string of live gigs by Brand, who denies the allegations.

Known for his unbridled and risqué standup routines, Brand was a major UK star in the early 2000s.

He hosted shows on radio and television, wrote memoirs charting his battles with drugs and alcohol, appeared in several Hollywood movies and was briefly married to pop star Katy Perry between 2010 and 2012.

Russell Brand leaves the Troubabour Wembley Park theatre in northwest London on Saturday night.
Russell Brand leaves the Troubabour Wembley Park theatre in London on Saturday night, after his first gig since the allegations emerged. (AP)
Russell Brand speaks onstage.
Three British news organisations have reported the comedian and social influencer has been accused of rape, sexual assault and abuse-based on allegations from four women. (Lester Cohen / Getty Images)

In recent years Brand has largely disappeared from mainstream media but has built up a large following online with videos mixing wellness and conspiracy theories.

His YouTube channel, which has more than 6 million subscribers, has featured COVID-19 conspiracy theories, vaccine misinformation and interviews with controversial broadcasters including Tucker Carlson and Joe Rogan.

He also has continued to tour as a comedian, performing to hundreds of people in a London venue on Saturday.

He had been as a consequence of carry out Tuesday in Windsor, west of London, however promoters mentioned the remainder of the tour was being postponed.

Source: www.9news.com.au