Before Donald Trump went down in history as the first president of the United States to come to office as a criminal convicted by the courts, he held many other dubious honors, such as having been the first candidate. It happened in the previous one, in 2016, when some audios from 2005 were leaked in which he said that the best way to dominate women was to “grab them by the pussy” (or grab’em by the pussy). At that moment the comedian, showmanBritish actor and author Russell Brand still lived in the United Kingdom, where he was a contributor to markedly leftist media such as New Statesman y defender of causes that would currently be called woke (such as anti-globalization movements and the Palestinian cause). Last Tuesday, when Kamala Harris’ face was revealed, the same Russell Brand who in times past campaigned in his country of origin for Jeremy Corbyn was now proudly wearing a characteristic Trumpist cap that read “Let’s put Jesus first.” again”. This behavior was not surprising considering the character’s profile, addicted to media attention. Anyone who has followed in the footsteps of the comedian who rose to fame in the early 2000s as an MTV presenter will know that Brand has always been a debater. However, his case reincarnates the classic dramatic arc of the left-wing activist man who was disgraced by the feminist movement for unacceptable behavior and who, in reaction to the “persecution of the system” decides to go to the other side of the road, to renounce progressivism. , hate woke and become a denier.
Despite the fact that since the beginning of 2000 and repeatedly many women who crossed paths with Brand on his professional path spoke of his abusive ways and his sexual voracity (the first of them was Kylie Minogue’s sister, Dannii, who already in 2006 she said in an interview that this man had sexually harassed her after taking her to his program).
When in 2019 Brand – who had already moved permanently to the United States to collaborate as a comedian on a television show – became global news for marrying the singer Katy Perry and then abandoning her through a WhatsApp message, all those voices that had spoken against him on the other side of the Atlantic began to be heard more loudly. He had given them the strength to do it. With his reputation already greatly affected, in 2020 Russell Brand decided that his new personality in the face of the pandemic would be that of a denialist communicator. In 2021, his YouTube channel was already one of those identified by the competent world authorities as a spreader of hoaxes. In 2022 Brand spoke openly about the “secret plans” of the World Health Organization to wipe out certain sectors of the population. And that was when in mid-2023 he was forced to pay attention to the media in his country of origin again.
A , published an investigation of more than four years in which four women dared to publicly accuse Brand of all kinds of humiliations. The first woman alleged that Brand raped her against a wall in his Los Angeles home and that she was then treated at a women’s center, as her medical reports showed. Hours after leaving Brand’s house, the victim sent the showman several texts telling him that when a woman says no she means no and that she felt that he was taking advantage of her, to which he responded that he was very sorry.
The second woman alleged that Brand had assaulted her when he was 31 and she, still a schoolgirl, was 16. She said that her “lover,” during a relationship she labeled abusive, referred to her as “the girl” and that on one occasion, the communicator had forced fellatio so violent that it made him vomit. This victim explained that to get Brand to stop he had to punch him in the stomach. A third woman said that Brand not only sexually assaulted her but after doing so told her that he would take legal action against her if she told anyone. The fourth among her accusations not only cited sexual harassment but also psychological abuse. Of course, Brand denied all allegations, calling them a “media fabrication.” mainstream”, embracing that litany so typical of the Trump era, in which criticizing large global institutions and traditional media is practically a commandment.
In this electoral campaign, Brand, under payment, has given wings to the campaign of the delirious Robert J. Kennedy, but as soon as the electoral results were known, he was clear: the America that can save him is that of the grab ‘em by the pussy.
