In a joint investigation by The Sunday Times and The Times newspapers, as well as Channel 4, four women accuse the actor of sexual assault between 2006 and 2013, when Russell Brand was at the height of his career, both as a presenter on BBC Radio 2, Channel 4 and as a film actor in Hollywood.

"Russell Brand worked for BBC radio programmes between 2006 and 2008 and we will urgently look into the issues raised" by the investigation, a spokesman for the public broadcasting giant BBC told AFP.

Channel 4 and production company Banijay UK, owner of Endemol that employed Russell Brand, have also said they are conducting their own internal investigations, according to British media.

Prior to the publication of these revelations, the 48-year-old former host now mainly active on social networks, had refuted on X (ex-Twitter) the "very serious criminal accusations" brought against him, ensuring that he had always had "totally consensual" relations.

In the investigation, one woman accuses Brand of raping her in his Los Angeles home, while another claims she was sexually assaulted during a three-month relationship when she was still a 16-year-old high school student.

During his career as a comedian, in television and film, in the United Kingdom and the United States, Russell Brand was noted for his repeated escapades, his former addiction to alcohol and heroin, his brief marriage to pop singer Katy Perry and his tendency to boast of his many female conquests.

He has recently multiplied conspiracy, anti-vaccine, and against the major media on his Youtube channel, followed by more than 6 million subscribers, or on his account X (ex-Twitter) to more than 11 million subscribers.

Asked by AFP, the Metropolitan Police said, without naming the actor, that at this stage it "has not received any report" in connection with the accusations made in the media against him.

The case provoked a reaction even in the political world. Caroline Dinenage, chair of Parliament's Committee on Culture, Media and Sport said parliament would "closely monitor" the response to the allegations against Russell Brand.

© 2023 AFP