All the times celebrities weren’t afraid to eviscerate Russell Brand

Who warned about Russell Brand?

Their comments have come back into focus after Brand was sentenced to more than 10 years in prison on Monday, 9 November.

He was found guilty of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault.

The case centres on allegations made by women who said Brand abused and degraded them between 2006 and 2013.

Their accounts gained wider attention after The Times and Channel 4 published a joint investigation in 2023, although some allegations had surfaced years earlier.

As the case has brought renewed attention to Brand's past, here are the celebrities who previously spoke about his behaviour.

Katherine Ryan

Katherine Ryan raised concerns about the comedian years before Brand's recent conviction, but was careful not to reveal his identity when she first discussed the incident publicly.

Speaking to Louis Theroux on the BBC's Louis Theroux Interviews… in November 2022, Ryan recalled confronting the unnamed man during the filming of a television show. 

She said she had openly accused him of being a predator, making the remark in front of the production team and other people present.

"I – in front of loads of people, in the format of the show – said to this person's face that they are a predator," she said.

She described the situation as a "litigious minefield" and stressed that the allegations were not hers to discuss publicly.

"They're not my story to tell," she said, adding that "no one has perpetrated any sexual assaults against me".

Throwback to Louis Theroux interviewing Katherine Ryan in 2022, where Katherine tells all about Russell Brand without naming him
by u/mrjohnnymac18 in popculturechat

However, a later report by Deadline, which cited multiple sources, linked the comments to Russell Brand and Comedy Central's Roast Battle.

Ryan and Brand had both worked on the programme in 2018, and the publication reported that Brand was furious about her remarks, leading to him leaving the show after six episodes and was replaced by Jonathan Ross.

Dannii Minogue

Dannii Minogue had already spoken out against Brand in 2006, years before the allegations against him became the subject of a major investigation.

The singer, who later became a judge on The X Factor, recalled appearing on Brand's MTV chat show and described his behaviour during their encounter as deeply uncomfortable.

She accused him of making repeated inappropriate comments and said he would not accept being told no.

Speaking at the time, Minogue called him a "vile predator", saying: "[Brand] is completely crazy and a bit of a vile predator. I certainly don't think he has cured his sex addiction, that's for sure. He wouldn't take no for an answer."

She also said some of his remarks were so shocking that she did not feel comfortable repeating them publicly.

"Just uttering the words would make me blush," she added.

Katy Perry

Katy Perry has previously spoken about the difficulties she faced during her marriage to Russell Brand, describing him as controlling and admitting that the relationship left her deeply hurt.

The singer and comedian married in October 2010, but their union lasted only 14 months. Brand filed for divorce in December of the next year, citing irreconcilable differences.

In a 2020 interview with 60 Minutes Australia, Perry described the marriage as an overwhelming experience, saying it felt as though everything had happened at once.

"It was just like a tornado. It was like everything happening at once," she recalled.

Perry brought up her former husband again during a UK concert in July this year, making a pointed remark to the crowd: "I hope my ex isn't here. He should be in jail."

Lorraine Kelly

Lorraine Kelly has questioned whether Russell Brand's behaviour on television would be tolerated today, recalling an uncomfortable moment they shared on The Graham Norton Show in 2007.

The presenter revisited the appearance on her own programme, Lorraine, in 2023, after allegations about Brand emerged. 

The footage showed him putting a hand on her leg before making a sexually suggestive comment about her outfit and calling her a “sl*t”.

Although Kelly and Brand appeared to laugh during the original broadcast, watching the exchange years later made her reconsider how she had responded. 

“It's an entertainment show. That was his shtick... That's what he was not just doing, but actively encouraged to do. It's not that long ago, not really,” she said.

Kelly admitted she was unsure whether she would have allowed the interaction to pass without challenging him if it happened now. 

She also questioned whether the moment would have been considered suitable for television in the current climate.

“I do wonder if I would have put up with that now. I do wonder if we are in a different place now and if it even would have been aired,” she added.

Daniel Sloss

Private warnings about Russell Brand had allegedly been circulating among female comedians for years before the accusations against him became public, according to comedian Daniel Sloss.

Sloss discussed the issue in Channel 4's Dispatches investigation, which featured allegations of rape, sexual assault and emotional abuse against Brand spanning 2006 to 2013. 

He was the only comedian to speak on the record for the documentary.

“I know that there are groups set up by female comedians where they warn each other of comedians... to avoid,” he told the programme.

Sloss specifically said that Brand had been discussed in these conversations for a considerable period, adding: “I know for many, many years that women have been warning each other about Russell [Brand].”

Katy Brand

Actress and comedian Katy Brand, who has no relation to Russell Brand, also described how concerns about the comedian were seemingly brushed aside within the entertainment industry. 

Last year, she brought attention back to an Instagram post detailing an experience from 2019, when she was involved in developing a television comedy show.

She said the production team had proposed casting Russell Brand, so she asked whether his background had been properly investigated. 

According to her account, the producer appeared uncomfortable but did little to address the issue.

Brand recalled that the producer responded: “Oh, that’s all rather unpleasant to think about, isn’t it?” 

She then claimed the producer revealed that the company's CEO, a powerful figure in the media industry, was due to have lunch with Russell Brand that week in an effort to persuade him to join the show.

“Brand said no, so they simply abandoned the whole thing anyway. That’s how it happens. Because they don’t care until they are forced to care. Solidarity with all the victims. Please keep speaking out,” she wrote.

Sean Lock

Russell Brand was also the target of Sean Lock's criticism during a 2014 appearance on 8 Out of 10 Cats, which. 

The comedian, who died from cancer in 2021, used the panel show to poke fun at Brand's personality, admitting that he found the thought of his daughters dating someone like him particularly unpleasant.

“Probably the reason I hate him so much is because I’m a dad and I’ve got this fear that one day my daughters will bring someone like that home and he’ll come in and go, ‘Oh, oh, such pleasure to be in your charming abode’,” he said.

Bob Geldof

An awkward confrontation between Russell Brand and Bob Geldof at the 2006 NME Awards became one of the ceremony's memorable moments. 

Brand was presenting the event when Geldof was called up to receive the Best DVD award for Live 8. 

However, the comedian's introduction did not go down well with the musician, who was clearly unimpressed by the jokes made at his expense.

Brand presented him as “Sir Bobby Gandalf”, prompting Geldof to deliver a rather different kind of response when he reached the stage. 

He began his acceptance speech by turning directly on the host, declaring: “Russell Brand - what a c*nt.”

Brand did not let the insult pass without a comeback. He responded with a dig at Geldof's music career, saying: “It's no wonder Bob Geldof knows so much about famine - he's been dining out on ‘I Don't Like Mondays’ for 30 years.”

The audience's reaction appeared to make the moment even more uncomfortable for Brand, with several people cheering Geldof's remark. 

Vanessa Feltz

A television interview from 2006 left Vanessa Feltz so disturbed by Russell Brand's comments that she was still speaking about the incident years later. 

In the aftermath of Channel 4's Dispatches investigation in 2023, the broadcaster revisited what had happened during their appearance together.

Feltz said Brand had made an explicit comment about wanting to have sex with her and her two daughters, despite one of them being only 15 at the time. 

She described her reaction as one of horror and stressed that she had found the remark deeply offensive when it happened.

Looking back on the encounter, she made clear that her feelings had not changed: “I was deeply offended then, as I remain deeply offended now.”