An online social media platform has blasted a "cancel culture" letter which was sent by a Government committee chair to blacklist Russell Brand.
Video platform Rumble shared the letter written by Culture, Media and Sport select committee chairwoman Dame Caroline Dinenage which questioned why Brand is able to monetise his content.
Brand has faced claims of rape, assault and emotional abuse between 2006 and 2013 after several women came forward.
The letter has sparked intense debate over the right to free speech given the comedian has not been formally charged or found guilty of the accusations.
Both the BBC and Channel 4 have launched investigations into his time working on their programmes and have removed content featuring him from their platforms.
The star's YouTube account, which has 6.6 million subscribers, has also been suspended from YouTube’s Partner account.
Posting on social media, Rumble said in a statement that its video site “deplores sexual assault, rape and all serious crimes” but that the allegations against Brand have “nothing to do” with its platform.
In the letter, Dinenage asked Rumble whether they intend to join YouTube in suspending Bran's ability to earn money on their platform.
In response, the platform’s chief executive Chris Pavlovski said that it stands for “different values” than YouTube and has “devoted ourselves to the vital cause of defending a free internet”.
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The statement added: “We don’t agree with the behaviour of many Rumble creators, but we refuse to penalise them for actions that have nothing to do with our platform."
Brand has denied any criminal wrongdoing and says all of his sexual relationships have been consensual.
Following the allegations, he has also been dropped by his agency and publisher while women's charities have cut ties with the comedian and the BBC has announced plans to launch a review into his time working with the broadcaster.
A spokesperson said of the decision: "The BBC does not ban or remove content when it is a matter of public record unless we have justification for doing so.
Russell Brand denies the allegations of sexual assaultYouTube/Russell Brand"There is limited content featuring Russell Brand on iPlayer and Sounds. We’ve reviewed that content and made a considered decision to remove some of it, having assessed that it now falls below public expectations."
The Met Police has released a statement regarding the allegations as it announced it had received a report about an alleged sexual assault which is claimed to have taken place in 2003 in London's Soho.
Its statement said: "Officers are in contact with the woman and will be providing her with support.
"We first spoke with The Sunday Times on Saturday September 16 and have since made further approaches to The Sunday Times and Channel 4 to ensure that anyone who believes they have been the victim of a sexual offence is aware of how to report this to the police."
