The BBC has said it has apologized to staff members who felt they were unable to raise complaints or concerns about Russell Brand‘s behaviour while he worked at the broadcaster.
The news came after the BBC published the findings of an internal reviews into Brand’s conduct while he worked on BBC radio between 2006 and 2008, sparked following a series of accusations made against the comedian and actor in 2023.
According to the BBC, its investigation — conducted by Peter Johnston and ordered by the director-general in September 2023 — considered eight complaints, two of which were made while he worked for the BBC.
One such complaint related to Brand urinating into a cup during a show on BBC Radio 2. The BBC acknowledged that it had been registered formally at the time, but admitted it was “not dealt with effectively.”
Another part of the report concerned an allegation that Brand had exposed himself to a woman in the bathroom of its LA office. Although a complaint was made, the investigation asserted that the incident “was fairly common knowledge” in the LA Bureau and was “often ‘joked about.’”
“What is clear is that many BBC staff and freelancers, especially in more junior roles, foundRussell Brand demanding and difficult to work with and his behaviour extreme, but all felt thatthere was no point in complaining as they believed they would not be listened to and, rightlyor wrongly, that Russell Brand as a high-profile presenter had the support of the stationmanagement,” the investigation claimed.
In a major report published by U.K.’s The Times, The Sunday Times and “Channel 4 Dispatches,” multiple women accused Brand sexual assault and rape in incidents that spanned 2006 to 2013. Brand has consistently denied all allegations, claiming that his relationships were “always consensual.”
