After Russell Brand was accused by several women of rape, sexual assault, and physical and emotional abuse, YouTube temporarily blocked him from making money on the platform where the British comedian and actor has his own channel.
Google-owned YouTube said it had temporarily removed his channel from its Partner Program (YPP), which gives content creators more access to YouTube’s resources and monetization features and allows for ad revenue sharing, following serious allegations against the 48-year-old. that appear in published content. So YouTube pays creators a portion of the money they make by showing ads alongside their videos, which has been a pretty lucrative business for Brando. In recent years, he has also been increasingly active as a political commentator, posting videos on YouTube on topics related to personal freedom and covid-19.
Branda is accused of rape, assault and emotional abuse between 2006 and 2013, when he was at the height of his fame. He denies the allegations and claims that all his relationships were consensual. The Metropolitan Police said on Monday it had received an allegation of a sexual assault in Soho, central London in 2003, but had not yet opened an investigation. Guardian.
Moving to rival online video platform RumbleBrand prepared for the temporary removal of his channel from YPP by moving many of his videos to rival online video platform Rumble. It’s a relatively niche site that doesn’t give Brand access to the more than 6.5 million subscribers he’s amassed in the decade since his YouTube channel was launched.
According to estimates, Brand earns around £2,000 to £4,000 (€2,300 to €4,600) per video, so posting five videos a week can net him nearly £1 million a year.
Although Brand is no longer active in the mainstream media, such as the British media BBC and Channel 4, his so-called alternative media empire relies on several online platforms. “We’ve suspended monetization on Russell Brand’s channel due to a violation of our Creator Responsibility Policy. If a creator’s behavior outside the platform harms our users, employees, or ecosystem, we take action to protect the community,” said a spokesperson for YouTube. The creator responsibility guidelines also state that in these cases the platform can take action to protect its community, including temporarily suspending monetization. “Once a creator is suspended from the YouTube Partner Program, they are prohibited from using a new or alternate channel to avoid our enforcement decision,” explained the representative of the platform.
YouTube’s move follows the decision to suspend Brando’s tour and the announcement by book publisher Bluebird that they have been suspended “all future posts” with the comedian. According to an announcement on the label’s website, Brand’s book Recovery: The Workbook, by Brand is scheduled to be released in December 2025. He also performs on the rest of his tour Bipolarisation were postponed after the charges were announced. In a statement, the promoters wrote: “We’re rescheduling these few remaining addiction charities, we hate to do it – but we know you’ll understand.“
Brand claims it was a “consensual” relationshipThe four women’s allegations against Russell Brand were published in The Sunday Times, The Times of London and Channel 4 Dispatches. One of the women claims he raped her, while the other three accuse him of sexual assault, and one also accuses him of physical and emotional abuse. According to one of the women, she was only 16 years old at the time of the attack, while Brando was 31 years old at the time. The Sunday Times published a message – from a phone number which multiple sources confirmed belonged to Brand – which said: “I’m sorry. That was crazy and selfish.”
On Friday, before the first allegations were made public, Brand posted a video online saying that during the period in question, “promiscuous“, but that all relationships were “consensual“.
Source: Rtvslo
