Russell Brand hit headlines. What happened next?

Hi everyone, 

A quick note before I get into it, Sparkies – this week I’ve got two stories about gender‑based violence, including mentions (but not descriptions) of rape and abuse. Both end with progress and hope for the women involved, but if you want to skip this week, I understand completely and I’ll see you soon. 

A year ago, a massive four-year joint investigation by The Sunday Times, The Times and Channel 4 Dispatches shook the public and led to an ongoing police investigation. It revealed accusations of rape, sexual assault and abuse made by four women against the comedian Russell Brand. The fallout was massive. 

When I reached out to Ros Urwin, the indomitable journalist who spearheaded the investigation, she agreed to speak with me – but not until yesterday, September 17. The reason? The investigation was published on September 16 last year and under UK defamation law, Brand – who denied the allegations – had a one-year window to sue. 

Ros and her colleagues spent four years gathering evidence, speaking to survivors, corroborating their stories and rigorously fact-checking. However, publishing stories such as this remain fraught with risk in the UK, due to our libel laws, which can be misused.

It’s extremely challenging for journalists to publish stories that could damage a wealthy person’s reputation. Allegations about Brand’s behaviour had circulated in comedy circles for years, but no one had successfully brought them to light before Ros and her team did.

Coincidentally, I was recently speaking to another journalist who broke a major story about a different wealthy, repeat sexual abuser. She explained that in reporting these cases, you need multiple people to come forward to establish a pattern. Essentially, even with a credible source, a journalist can struggle to publish a story if the alleged abuser has the money to sue.

It’s a catch-22 situation – finding more survivors is difficult without publishing first, but publishing without multiple sources is next to impossible.

In early 2021, Alice* contacted The Sunday Times, alleging that Brand had been sexually and emotionally abusive toward her when she was 16 and he was 30. Alice had previously reached out to Brand’s agent with her allegations when she was a teenager, but had received a response from his lawyer.

The following year, a Times journalist was introduced to Nadia*, who alleged she was raped by Brand. Journalists reviewed extensive evidence, including therapy notes, text messages, call records, and photos, to corroborate her claims. They also spoke to two more women who allege they were also abused. 

Ros told me: “Investigations of this nature are very difficult. They rest on the bravery of alleged victims in being willing to talk about what is often the worst experience of their lives and those sources need to be treated with the utmost respect and care. That care continues months and even years after publication. It takes great strength to speak out.

“One of the frustrations with these types of investigations is the lack of accountability from the wider industry, in this case the TV industry,” Ros said. “As an industry, it both regularly creates and then turns a blind eye to monsters. Leaders in the industry always claim they know nothing even though the rumours are widespread. It is also important that those who enabled abuse – by looking the other way or ignoring complaints – are held accountable”.

Since the story came out, Brand has used his YouTube channel to deny the allegations and rally his supporters. However, his efforts to undermine the investigation and cast doubt among his followers have limits. Thankfully, the police are now involved.

The Metropolitan Police has opened an investigation. If they find sufficient evidence that the allegations are true, he could face charges for the crimes.

It’s frustratingly slow progress for the survivors, but it is progress nonetheless. And it is such a huge achievement for Ros and all the others who worked on the piece – including the women themselves – to bring the allegations to light.

*names have been changed

“I was terrified to speak up, but I immediately trusted Andjela. I felt a sense of woman-to-woman solidarity, and I knew I was safe. The opportunity to share my story felt like a release for me – an injustice had happened to me, and I hadn’t spoken about it.

I used to think such things happened to other people, not to educated girls like me. But when it did, my world changed. I realised there were likely many other girls, silent and ashamed, who had experienced similar violence.

Sharing my story was therapeutic. Andjela’s investigation felt like an invitation to finally let my voice out, to help other women talk about it, educate themselves, and be vigilant.

The abuse I endured didn’t start with something obvious – it crept in slowly, through manipulation. Eventually, it escalated to the point where a deeply intimate recording of me was shared online without my knowledge. I felt completely betrayed and taken advantage of. It was a violation I didn’t even recognise as violence at first.

After the piece was published, I hoped it would spark a dialogue, and it did. It started conversations among my friends and beyond. I even smiled to myself when I realised that my story had contributed to something bigger. The biggest surprise was when the topic made its way to a legislative proposal to amend the law. I never imagined that could happen – I just wanted to raise awareness, and I’m proud that it resonated with so many people.

Going public made a huge difference in my life. For the first time, I didn’t feel alone. I connected with others who had experienced similar abuse, and it gave me strength. Instead of feeling like a victim, I started to see myself as a survivor.

This process empowered me, especially when I crossed paths with my ex-boyfriend. In the past, I would have been paralysed by fear, but this time I walked by confidently. That moment was a victory for me.

I chose to stay anonymous because of the fear of being judged. I’ve seen others who speak out publicly become the target of scrutiny – people focus on irrelevant things, like their appearance or past, instead of the essence of the story. But even anonymously, I know my experience has made an impact. By sharing, I hope I’ve helped others realise they’re not alone and that we can reclaim our power.”

Thanks so much for reading. I’m always trying to make this newsletter uplifting and this week I dealt with some quite heavy subjects. But I hope you can see the strength of the women who came together and gave each other a voice to speak about their experiences – and that even if change is slow in coming, it does come.  

As always, do reply to this email if you want to reach out directly. I love hearing from you!