Channel 4 has today said it can find ‘no evidence’ that TV managers were aware of sex accusations against Russell Brand.
Brand has been questioned by police twice in relation to allegations of rape, after accusations against him were made by women speaking to the Sunday Times and Channel 4’s Dispatches programme last October.
The comedian has strenuously denied wrongdoing, and says he has evidence to refute allegations. He has called the claims a conspiracy by the ‘mainstream media’.
Channel 4 set up an investigation into whether any senior managers had previously been aware of the allegations against him which have included rape, assault and emotional abuse.
Chief executive Alex Mahon today revealed one former Channel 4 employee made a ‘serious and concerning allegation’ about Brand in 2009 – but this was not passed on to the broadcaster’s senior management team.
Russell Brand has denied any wrongdoing and called the claims against him a conspiracy by the ‘mainstream media’
The presenter has been accused of carrying out rapes, indecent assaults and emotional abuse at the height of his fame between 2006 and 2013
Channel 4 chief executive Alex Mahon says senior managers were not aware of allegations
Channel 4 released a report today following their own investigation into the accusations
She said she has now apologised to the individual who raised the concern.
The Channel 4 report released this afternoon said: ‘The investigation found no evidence to suggest that there was knowledge within the channel of the allegations contained in the Dispatches programme about Russell Brand’s behaviour while he was a presenter on Big Brother’s Big Mouth and Kings Of Comedy between 2004 and 2007.
‘No evidence was found to substantiate the allegation in the programme that Russell Brand’s behaviour had been discussed in a commissioning meeting in 2014.’
Ms Mahon said this afternoon: ‘The investigating team, with external legal help, have conducted an extremely thorough investigation into the Dispatches allegations as they pertain to Channel 4.
‘Doing this investigation properly in extensive detail was a very important principle for us.
‘Whilst the investigation did not find any evidence to suggest that any Channel 4 employees were aware of Russell Brand’s alleged behaviour contained in the programme, it did find that one former Channel 4 employee made a serious and concerning allegation about Russell Brand in 2009.
‘This was not escalated to Channel 4’s then senior management team, nor investigated as it should have been. I have apologised on behalf of the organisation to the individual for this breakdown and for the distress this matter has caused.’
Ms Mahon insisted there had been ‘changes’ in the industry in recent years to combat what she called ‘inappropriate and offensive behaviour’.
She added: ‘In my view, it is a matter of regret for our industry that repugnant behaviours were tolerated – and indeed appeared on-air – in the past.
‘Production staff, employees and suppliers should never experience inappropriate behaviour.
Brand has been questioned by detectives from London ‘s Metropolitan Police over allegations of historical sex offences (seen in the Dispatches documentary)
Women accused the presenter of rape, indecent assault and emotional abuse in a joint investigation by Channel 4’s Dispatches and the Sunday Times
Channel 4 set up its own investigation into whether senior staff at the broadcaster had been aware of allegations against him during his work on shows such as Big Brother’s Big Mouth
‘Channel 4 and I are committed to creating an environment where if any employee or person working on a Channel 4-commissioned show feels uncomfortable about behaviour towards them, then processes are in place for investigation and for appropriate action to be taken.
‘I commend the journalists involved in reporting the allegations and the people who have bravely come forward. Channel 4 has reported on itself without fear and investigated our own historical corporate responsibility thoroughly.
‘While there is always more to be done, I am confident about the changes that have taken place in our industry over recent years, and it should now be clear that inappropriate and offensive behaviour has no place in it. I hope these issues can ultimately lead to further positive change.’
‘I commend the journalists involved in reporting the allegations and the people who have bravely come forward. Channel 4 has reported on itself without fear and investigated our own historical corporate responsibility thoroughly.
Russell has always maintained that his relationships were consensual and has hired Prince Andrew’s ‘pit bull’ lawyer to fight the sex claims in the US.
He recently told former Fox News host Tucker Carlson in a YouTube video that the claims were ‘very, very hurtful’.
Channel 4’s one-hour special The Russell Brand Dispatches was this week nominated for a TV BAFTA, in the Current Affairs category at the event to take place on May 12.
Other investigations into his behaviour have been launched by the BBC and production firm Banijay , while the Met Police and Thames Valley police said they are investigating other complaints.
The first allegations included one woman saying Brand raped her against the wall of his Los Angeles home without a condom in 2013.
She was treated at a rape crisis on the same day, according to medical records seen by The Times.
The actor and comedian is pictured leaving the Troubadour Wembley Park theatre in north-west London after performing a comedy set last September
Brand has always maintained that his relationships were consensual and has hired Prince Andrew’s ‘pit bull’ lawyer to fight the sex claims in the US
The Russell Brand Dispatches documentary on Channel 4 has been nominated for a TV BAFTA
Another woman alleged he sexually assaulted when she was 16-years-old and still at school in the UK.
A third claimed that Brand sexually assaulted her while she worked with him in LA., adding that she repeatedly told him to get off her and when he finally did he ‘flipped’.
The fourth claimed she was sexually assaulted by Brand in the UK and accused him of being physically and emotionally abusive towards her.
In the wake of the scandal, a fifth woman filed a report to the Metropolitan Police, claiming she was sexually assaulted by the star in Soho, London, in 2003.