The BBC has apologised to employees who felt unable to speak up about alleged misconduct by former presenter Russell Brand, after concluding a report on his time working for 6 Music and Radio 2, between 2006 and 2008.
In September 2023, the TV personality was accused of rape, sexual assault and emotional abuse following an investigation by Channel 4, The Times and The Sunday Times. The four accusations relate to his professional and personal life, and separate to the complaints mentioned in the report. Later that month, he was accused of exposing himself to a woman while in Los Angeles recording a BBC Radio show in 2008.
Brand has denied all allegations, releasing a video stating: “Amidst this litany of astonishing, rather baroque attacks are some very serious allegations that I absolutely refute”.
On page 10 of the 15-page report, led by Peter Johnston, it was stated: “What is clear is that many BBC staff and freelancers, especially in more junior roles, found Russell Brand demanding and difficult to work with and his behaviour extreme, but all felt that there was no point in complaining as they believed they would not be listened to and, rightly or wrongly, that Russell Brand as a high-profile presenter had the support of the station management”.
Today (January 30), a BBC press release in response to the report read: “When allegations were raised about Russell Brand in 2023, relating to his work at the BBC, it was important that this was looked into methodically. This work has been conducted with the greatest care. We want to thank the individuals who have participated, as we know that it has not been easy to speak out about some of the issues the review addresses”.
It continued: “The review considered eight complaints of misconduct about Russell Brand, only two of which were made while he was engaged by the BBC, one formally and one informally. It is of great concern that some of these individuals felt unable to raise concerns about Russell Brand’s behaviour at the time, and the BBC has apologised to them as part of this review”.
“It is also clear that there were compliance inadequacies on some of Russell Brand’s Radio 2 shows which led to content being aired that would not be broadcast today. Russell Brand left the BBC in 2008 following a high-profile editorial breach”.
The statement concluded by saying: “As has been reported, there is an ongoing police investigation into Russell Brand. The BBC has been in contact with the Metropolitan police throughout the review and they have seen the report. The BBC acknowledges that Russell Brand categorically denies all public allegations made against him”.
In a separate statement, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said: “The complaints against Russell Brand set out in this report are horrendous. As is the fact that staff felt unable to raise concerns because they did not think that they would be believed or taken seriously”.
“I commend those who bravely came forward to share their appalling experiences. The BBC must now reflect on the conclusions and take action to reassure its staff and the wider public that it takes these issues seriously”.
“For too long, there has been a culture of silence in the media industry where inappropriate behaviour like Brand’s has been tolerated or downplayed. Power imbalances and a perception that certain stars cannot be challenged are sadly not unique to this case. The BBC, and the wider industry, must now urgently consider what more they can do to make sure that abuse and harassment by anyone, no matter who they are, is not tolerated in any of their workplaces”.
NME has reached out to Russell Brand’s representatives for comment.
A separate investigation conducted last year by the production company Banijay UK found concerns about his behaviour while working for Channel 4 were “not adequately addressed”.
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