Russell Brand has lost his agent in the wake of an explosive exposé in which four women accused the comedian and YouTuber of sexual assault, although agency Tavistock Wood was first made aware of an allegation from a 16-year-old in 2020.
The woman told The Times that she was 16 when Brand initiated a sexual relationship, and he was 30 (the age of consent in England is 16). She told the Times that Brand knew her age and referred to her as “the child” during their three-month relationship, which she described as emotionally abusive and controlling. The woman said that Brand had at one time “forced his penis down her throat” and that she tried pushing him off, punching him in the stomach to get him to stop.
Brand sent a car to pick her up from the high school that she attended, according to the woman. She asked Brand to save her number under a fake name in his phone to help keep their relationship secret from her parents. She also said that his management was aware of their relationship and had told Brand to avoid being seen with her in public.
The woman said she contacted Tavistock Wood co-founder Angharad Wood in 2020 to recount her experience and wanted an apology. In return, she received a message from a lawyer representing Brand that she described as “aggressive,” insinuating she was seeking money.
In a statement provided to media outlets, Tavistock Wood said it has cut ties with Brand and acknowledged their prior awareness of the allegation: “Russell Brand categorically and vehemently denied the allegation made in 2020, but we now believe we were horribly misled by him. TW has terminated all professional ties to Brand.”
An investigation by Britain’s Channel 4 and newspapers The Times and The Sunday Times was released on Saturday that exposed allegations from four women of sexual assault and “controlling, abusive and predatory behavior.”
Brand has denied the allegations, saying “amidst this litany of astonishing, rather baroque attacks are some very serious allegations that I absolutely refute.” While saying that his relationships were consensual, his statement only denies some of the allegations. Brand also claims to have evidence refuting some of the allegations, but declined to provide it to The Times.
While Brand’s publicist MBC PR did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s inquiry about whether he’s still represented by them, he no longer appears on their website’s list of clients.
The Daily Mail was the first to report the news of Brand being dropped by his agent.
