British comedian and actor Russell Brand is denying four women's allegations of sexual assault against him following a joint investigation published Saturday by the Times of London, The Sunday Times and Channel 4 Dispatches.
In a video posted to his social media accounts, Brand denied the allegations and said his relationships have all been consensual. He said he received "extremely disturbing" communications from a mainstream TV company and a newspaper "listing a litany of extremely egregious and aggressive attacks."
"But amidst this litany of astonishing, rather baroque attacks are some very serious allegations that I absolutely refute," Brand said.
An attorney for Brand declined to comment on the allegations.
Channel 4, The Times and The Sunday Times are airing a special on Saturday entitled “Russel Brand: In Plain Sight," in which four women accuse him of rape or sexual assault; a fifth accuses him of flashing his genitals at her.
One of the women alleges she had a three-month relationship with Brand when she was 16, according to The Times. Although that is the age of consent in the United Kingdom, she claims Brand groomed and raped her.
“Russell engaged in the behaviours of a groomer, looking back, but I didn’t even know what that was then, or what that looked like,” the woman, who is not being identified, told The Times.
NBC has not independently confirmed any of the allegations against Brand.
In his denial, Brand went on to say that the allegations stem from a time during the height of his mainstream fame when he was transparently “very, very promiscuous,” adding that all the relationships he had at the time “were absolutely always consensual.”
“And to see that transparency metastasized into something criminal that I absolutely deny, makes me question ‘Is there another agenda at play?’”
Brand expressed that he feels his expansion in recent years in the anti-mainstream space, including the growth of his "Stay Free with Russell Brand" podcast where he explores "the ulterior truth behind our constructed reality," may be a reason behind these recently surfaced allegations.
“It’s been clear to me, or at least it feels to me, like there’s a serious and concerted agenda to control these kinds of spaces and these kind of voices, and I mean my voice along with your voice," he told his audience.
The comedian also accused The Times, The Sunday Times and Channel 4 of working closely together to construct “a coordinated attack” against him. He also mentioned that there are witnesses "whose evidence directly contradicts the narratives that these two mainstream media outlets are trying to construct." Brand does not elaborate or identify who these witnesses are in his video.
The Sunday Times asked Brand's lawyer for the evidence he referred to but no answer was provided.
"We are obviously going to look into this matter, because it's very, very serious," Brand said. "In the meantime, I want you to stay close, stay awake, but more important than any of that, if you can, please, stay free."
Brand currently resides in the U.K., according to his attorney.
NBC News reached out to The Times. The publication did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
CLARIFICATION (Sept. 19, 2023 12:30 pm ET): This article has been updated to clarify the allegations against Brand. Four women have accused him of rape or sexual assault; a fifth accused him of flashing his genitals at her.
