Russell Brand: 'Just because he has a YouTube channel, he doesn't have to be held accountable!?'
Sarah Vine discussed the allegations made against comedy star Russell Brand
GB News
Daily Mail columnist Sarah Vine and Political Commentator Bushra Shaikh joined GB News presenters Bev Turner and Andrew Pierce as they discussed the allegations facing comedian Russell Brand.
The 48-year-old comedy star has been accused of rape, sexual assault, and mental abuse by four women.
Speaking on Britain’s Newsroom, Sarah Vine shared her thoughts on the case: “I don't understand why the fact that he has a YouTube channel means that he shouldn't be held accountable for things that he did to women?”
Bev Turner replied: “That's not what it is. But it's about the suspicion. And there's a piece in the paper yesterday about how a third of adults are now what we call super-distrusters of mainstream establishment media, because so many people have felt let down by the establishment media in the last three years.”
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Sarah Vine added: “We’re in Trumpian territory here guys, we need to be really careful.”
The allegations have been denied by Brand in a video posted on his own social media, where he stated he was facing a “litany of extremely egregious and aggressive attacks”.
He also added that relationships have always been “consensual”.
Bushra Shaikh voiced her opinion on the culture surrounding celebrities and allegations, saying: “The moment that somebody becomes influential to the amount that he is, because he's very, very powerful. There is a pattern emerging here that the way that you tier men down, how it's through their behaviour with women.”
Responding, Andrew Pierce asked: “Are you saying the mainstream media are pulling him down because they fear him?”
Shaikh replied: “Absolutely, I think he tells the truth.
“I think it's very fair for these women to come forward if that's how they feel. But everybody's allowed to be innocent until they're proven guilty in the court of law.”
Sarah Vine then added to the discussion, including her column in which she had stated "even a toe-rag like him should surely be given a fair hearing".
Sarah Vine and Bev Turner debated the impact of allegations against a high profile figure
GB News
Vine said: “I said yesterday in my column that the whole Me Too movement has been politicised. It definitely has. And people do hijack it for their own means.
“But I still think that this, the, the amount of stuff that's coming out about him is interesting and needs to be investigated. And I don't think that just because somebody, you could say this about Prince Andrew, just because somebody is powerful or popular or whatever, that they should be exempt from the investigations.”
Sarah continued: “I do think it is unfair that you can have your, you know, that your past can come back to bite you really badly like this. I think people do should be able to move on from there's no statute of limitations and there's no statute of limitations.
“And I think perhaps, you know, one of the things that I would say is that I do think that if women are going to bring claims against people or men against women, whatever, I think there should perhaps be a limit.”