Mere hours after explosive allegations were mounted against Russell Brand in a bombshell investigation by The Sunday Times, British television network Channel 4 aired Russell Brand: In Plain Sight.
Broadcast on the channel’s documentary strand, Dispatches, the program is a collaboration between Channel 4 and The Sunday Times, and details their joint investigation into numerous allegations of sexual assault and rape levelled against Brand, some of which date back to 2006.
What is Russell Brand: In Plain Sight?
Broadcast on Sept. 16, the 90-minute In Plain Sight uncovers Brand’s alleged history of sexual assault towards four women at the height of his career. The assaults allegedly took place between 2006 to 2013, with a representative for In Plain Sight telling Variety that “five women, four of whom asked to remain anonymous, agreed to share their stories of serious sexual allegations in the program.”
In Plain Sight includes testimonies of those allegedly affected by Brand’s behaviour in the past, including silhouetted interviews and actor stand-ins for those who wish to remain anonymous. The documentary also features old archival footage of Brand on various talk shows and during his stand-up comedy sets making inappropriate jokes about his promiscuity.
What has Russell Brand said about the documentary?
Brand got ahead of In Plain Sight’s premiere on his social media channels, forewarning in a YouTube video ahead of the program’s release that two “mainstream media outlets” were organizing a “coordinated attack” on him. Brand went on to “absolutely refute” the allegations later surfaced in the joint investigation, saying his past relationships were “always consensual.”
Brand did not specifically name the allegations that were later surfaced in In Plain Sight, he did describe them as “serious criminal” claims and said they stem from a period when he was admittedly “very promiscuous.”
Brand, who once worked as a presenter on both BBC and Channel 4, seemed to suggest that the investigation was part of a broader “agenda at play.” The comedian and actor cited similar “attacks” on Joe Rogan following the podcaster’s statements about COVID-19.
How to stream Russell Brand: In Plain Sight
In Plain Sight premiered on Channel 4 on Saturday, Sept. 16 at 9pm. For those in the United Kingdom, the documentary is available to stream for free on the channel’s streaming service, All4.
For those outside of the UK, Channel 4 is accessible via the Google Chrome Beebs extension, which also allows viewers to watch content on BBC iPlayer and ITV Player. Viewers can also access In Plain Sight by using a VPN service.
If you know someone suffering from sexual violence, contact RAINN or the National Sexual Abuse Telephone Hotline at 1-800-656-4673.