- Four women have accused Russell Brand of sexual assault.
- Russell Brand says the accusations are part of a coordinated media attack against him.
- Elon Musk believes Russell Brand.Â
Russell Brand, newly accused of sexual assault and rape, says he feels attacked.
In a video posted on Friday in apparent anticipation of those accusations becoming public, Brand denied the allegations and said he believed they were a coordinated attack by the “mainstream” media against him.
Elon Musk, who can’t resist weighing in on a controversy, appears to believe Russell Brand.
The Tesla founder and SpaceX founder and owner of X, which is what Musk now insists we call whatever Twitter has become, expressed solidarity with Brand on Friday — before any details of the investigation were even released.
“Of course,” Musk said in response to Brand on Twitter, er, X. “They don’t like competition.”
Brand, much like his brand, has suffered some setbacks in recent years. YouTube, which is hardly the most severe arbiter of questionable views, removed a video of his that it deemed COVID-19 misinformation. He has also promoted conspiracies around the Ukraine War that are supported by the Kremlin.Â
Musk, like Brand, has also seen some recent setbacks to his popular image. Those are perhaps too numerous to name here, but the biographer who spent two years following him around — and to whom Musk gave unprecedented access — described him succinctly as a “jerk” and someone “not caring.”Â
The women accusing Brand of sexual misconduct, meanwhile, used far harsher words to describe him. According to the joint investigation released by the Times of London, The Sunday Times, and Channel 4 Dispatches, four women have so far come forward to accuse Brand of sexual misconduct and predatory behavior, including rape and sexual assault.
One of those women said Brand approached her when she was just 16 years old. Brand was 30 at the time. She described Brand forcing his penis down her throat, choking her, and refusing to stop. She said she had to punch him in the gut to get him off. “I knew at that point that he didn’t care about hurting me physically or emotionally,” she told reporters.