What did Russell Brand say in his video posted to Instagram, YouTube and X?

Russell Brand has broken his silence by posting a video to YouTube and other social media websites. This is the first time he has made public comments since allegations were published by the Sunday Times and Channel 4’s Dispatches last weekend.

In the video, Russell Brand started off saying that “It has been an extraordinary and distressing week.” He then went on to thank everyone for their support and for “questioning the information you have been presented with.” 

Sky News reported that in the new video, “Brand claims the British government “asked big tech platforms to censor our online content.” The article goes on to say that “He talks about the government’s Online Safety Bill, which he said has been passed. The law in question has not yet received Royal Assent.”

Towards the end of his video, Russell Brand encouraged people to “follow me on Rumble” as “that’s the only way we can keep our voice.” His last words on the video are “I need your support now more than ever.”

Russell Brand has 1.4m followers on Rumble, and is the fifth most followed person on the site. The site in total has 238m subscribers, and was created nine years ago in 2013. 

Rumble is owned by Canadian technology entrepreneur Chris Pavlovski and its headquarters are in Toronto, Ontario. Rumble’s US headquarters are in Longboat Key, Florida. 

According to The Times, “Pavlovski, a Canadian entrepreneur, founded Rumble in 2013 as an alternative for smaller, independent creators whom he felt were ignored on mainstream platforms. Prominent investors include the PayPal founder Peter Thiel and the Republican senator for Ohio, J.D.Vance.”

Russell Brand is expected to release a fuller video on Rumble on Monday 25 September 2023. The BBC reported that “Earlier this week, responding to a UK Parliament committee that asked if it would cut Brand’s income in the wake of the allegations, Rumble said it would not “join a cancel culture mob.”