BBC Apologizes to Staff After Russell Brand Investigation Finds Allegations Were 'Joked About'

Mar. 15, 2025

Russell Brand on Oct. 4, 2017.Photo:Cindy Ord/Getty Images)

Cindy Ord/Getty Images)

BBC apologized to its employees after an internal investigation intoRussell Brand’s alleged behavior while he worked for the broadcaster between November 2006 and October 2008.

Brand, now 49, has said as recently as September 2023 that he “absolutely refutes” all allegations against him.

“I have not found any evidence of anyone in BBC management being aware of Olivia’s experience with Russell Brand until it was escalated in 2019,” Johnston wrote in his report. “I have, however, been told that the incident was fairly common knowledge in the L.A. Bureau of the BBC at the time and over subsequent years. I have heard it was often ‘joked about,’ which is unacceptable for something so serious.”

The investigation noted that the woman in question was not a BBC employee but worked in the same building as the BBC’s L.A. bureau. Johnston wrote in the report that he personally apologized to the woman “on behalf of the BBC” and found the organization’s handling of her complaint in 2019 “inadequate.”

“It is of great concern that some of these individuals felt unable to raise concerns about Russell Brand’s behavior at the time, and the BBC has apologized to them as part of this review.”

Russell Brand on July 18, 2024.Leon Neal/Getty

Leon Neal/Getty

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As part of the investigation, Johnston and his team interviewed 39 individuals. Brand declined to participate in the investigation.

“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 behavior 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,” Johnston wrote in the report.

Russell Brand on Oct. 3, 2017.John Lamparski/Getty Images

John Lamparski/Getty Images

“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 statement added. “The BBC acknowledges that Russell Brand categorically denies all public allegations made against him.”

source: people.com