An investigation discovered that the complaints about Russell Brand‘s behavior while working on Channel 4 programs were not handled properly. Last year, Russell Brand, who is 49 years old, faced a lot of media attention because a Channel 4 documentary brought up past accusations of sexual assault against him.
The investigation, done by law firm Lewis Silkin, revealed that although no official complaints were made against Brand while he worked on “Big Brother’s Big Mouth,” “Kings of Comedy,” and “Big Brother’s Celebrity Hijack” from 2004 to 2008, staff members had raised concerns. They were worried because Brand asked runners to get phone numbers of audience members, and female crew members felt uncomfortable or intimidated around him.

The report says that Russell Brand often flirted with many of the women he worked with or met. He would often be in his underwear in his dressing room and sometimes even be naked in front of Endemol staff. People seemed to accept this behavior, thinking it was just:
“Russell being Russell.”
The investigation by Banijay, which now owns Endemol, found that Russell Brand’s contracts didn’t stop him from having sex with people he worked with. He was known to have sexual relationships with some audience members and colleagues. However, the report didn’t find any evidence that crew members knew about an incident where a 24-year-old runner said he once showed his private parts to her in his dressing room and suggested she could give him oral sex.

The report mentions that two witnesses heard a rumor that Russell Brand would allegedly “make crew members wait outside his dressing room while he masturbated,” but there wasn’t enough information to confirm this.
The report also concludes that during the recording of the shows, there was little to no training for the crew or anyone else about respect in the workplace, the code of conduct, or ethical practices. Additionally, there was no clear procedure for someone to follow if they wanted to report a concern.
In September, five women accused Russell Brand of sexual assault and emotional abuse, with one woman saying he raped her. This information came out in an investigation by the Sunday Times. Brand denied the claims in a YouTube video, saying he strongly rejects the “list of shocking, strange attacks” against him.
A spokesperson for Russell Brand didn’t reply right away when Variety asked for a comment about the Banijay investigation.
Source: Independent