Recent allegations made against Russell Brand

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Two more women have made complaints to the BBC over Russell Brand’s behaviour. The BBC reported in their update this Tuesday that the recent complaints were not of a serious sexual nature, but related to his workplace conduct. Now a total of five complaints have been made directly towards the BBC, two of these having been raised previously in the years 2006-2008. 

The review is focused on the BBC’s handling of any complaints over Brand’s conduct, especially during his work for Radio 2 and 6 Music. It was launched after an investigation by Channel 4’s Dispatches and The Times, in which four women levelled accusations against the broadcaster. Released in September, the documentary revealed that he has been accused of “rape, sexual assaults and emotional abuse”.

The recent update of the review outlined that although it was in “no way complete”, they have found that no disciplinary action was taken against Brand prior to leaving the BBC in 2006-2008. 

Peter Johnston, the BBC’s director of editorial complaints and reviews, says he is “treating all of these allegations seriously” and “it would not be appropriate for me to reach any conclusions until I am satisfied all lines of enquiry have been exhausted”.

There have also been concerns regarding Brand’s use of BBC cars. A woman has claimed that the comedian picked her up from school when she was 16 using the broadcaster’s car service so she could go to his home. However, the BBC has updated that they cannot “identify precise details” of “bookings made for Russell Brand” as their records of car bookings are not available. 

The broadcasting company has also established that there was a formal complaint made in 2019 in relation to a 2008 Los Angeles allegation. However, they are still looking into this in further detail.