He quit his radio show in the wake of the incident, which drew thousands of complaints to the publicly funded broadcaster. Known for his unbridled and risqué standup routines, he hosted shows on radio and television, wrote memoirs charting his battles with drugs and alcohol, appeared in several Hollywood movies and was briefly married to pop star Katy Perry between 20.īrand was suspended by the BBC in 2008 for making lewd prank calls to “Fawlty Towers” actor Andrew Sachs in which he boasted about having sex with Sachs’ granddaughter. The allegations reported by the newspapers and Channel 4 cover the period between 20, when Brand was a major star in Britain with a growing U.S. The claims have renewed debate about the “lad culture” that flourished in Britain in the 1990s and early 2000s, and the misogyny that still percolates on the internet. “This merits and needs a criminal investigation, because for too long we have seen men - and the perpetrators of these sorts of crimes are almost invariably men - not being held to account for their behaviors and their actions,” she told BBC radio. Max Blain, spokesman for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, said the claims were “very serious and concerning.” Conservative legislator Caroline Nokes, who chairs the House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee, urged police in both Britain and the United States to investigate the “incredibly shocking” allegations.

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