Russell Brand's convictions this week for rape and sexual assault have renewed scrutiny on the BBC and other media employers that may have looked the other way LONDON -- For three straight years while he worked at BBC radio stations, Russell Brand was awarded a notable distinction by The Sun, Britain’s largest tabloid: “Shagger of the Year.” It was, of course, in perfect alignment with the bad-lad image Brand cultivated that rode a thin line between outrageous and offensive, as he became one of Britain’s most famous comedians. Brand’s convictions Thursday for rape and sexual assault have turned a spotlight back on the BBC and other media employers, renewing questions about whether bosses enabled his behavior or chose to look away. They also highlighted the ways in which his excesses were overlooked by the culture at large.
The BBC apologized last year for a culture of silence that, it said, prevented staff from complaining about Brand’s behavior at its radio stations between 2006 and 2008 because they felt he was too powerful. It reiterated that apology after his conviction. The resulting articles and documentary brought women forward who provided the evidence that led to his conviction.
But it was no secret Brand had misbehaved during his time as a shock jock at the BBC or TV host at Channel 4. He wrote in a memoir, for example, about how he had sex in radio-station handicapped bathrooms with contestant winners from the BBC station 6 Music. He was acquitted of two rape counts and one count of attempted indecent assault.
He faces sentencing Monday. Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy of London’s Metropolitan Police called the conviction “a testament to the extraordinary courage, resilience and determination of the women who came forward and reported what happened to them.” “Brand used his influence, status and fame to exploit and sexually offend against women,” Furphy said. The review found it was “not dealt with effectively.” In his second memoir, “My Booky Wook 2,” Brand spoke of how “incredibly tolerant” Lesley Douglas, the Radio 2 controller at the time, was about his behavior and that he took advantage of the “lots of room” she gave him.
He acknowledged going “too far,” though, when he claimed, on air, that he would be under the desk performing an intimate act with a female newsreader while she was reading the headlines. The newsreader “was a bit upset,” he said. Liz Kershaw, a longtime BBC radio DJ, wrote in The Telegraph on Thursday that she had complained since 2006 to BBC management about how Brand’s behavior was tolerated.
He was their performing monkey. He made ‘great telly.’ His colleagues were collateral damage.” In 2008, Brand finally went too far during an on-air prank and had to resign. Brand phoned actor Andrew Sachs, best known for the 1970s program, “Fawlty Towers,” and left a message claiming to have had sex (he used an expletive) with his granddaughter.
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