An Australian wellness festival has become the latest to cancel Russell Brand in the wake of sexual assault allegations.
The 48-year-old comedian was due to headline The Wanderlust Festival, a yoga and wellness event in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne next February.
But now he has been kicked out of the event, where he was due to give a talk to wellness lovers, just weeks after his appearance was announced.
It comes after four women accused him last weekend of rape, sexual assault and emotional abuse, with the alleged incidents said to have taken place between 2006 and 2013 in the UK and US. The Metropolitan Police are investigating another allegation of sexual assault in 2003.
Brand vehemently denies the allegations and has said his relationships have “always been consensual.”
Cancellation chain
The comic is facing a litany of cancellations since the allegations, made anonymously in an investigation by Channel 4, The Times and Sunday Times.
Confirming that the festival is cutting ties, Wanderlust chief executive Charlotte Hill said in a statement: “Due to circumstances that have recently come to light, Wanderlust and Russell Brand have agreed that Mr Brand will not appear at the Festival “Wanderlust.”
Tickets had already gone on sale. Wanderlust sells plant-based therapeutic supplements and describes itself as “dedicated to understanding, expanding and refining personal well-being,” a topic that has frequented Brand’s social media channels and popular videos on the Rumble platform in the past few years. last years.
It is the latest blow after YouTube, the BBC, his podcast company, his book publisher and his promoters have variously cut ties since the allegations emerged, and his UK stand-up tour has been postponed.
On Monday, Brand’s YouTube channel was prevented from making money from its suspended ads, because the Google-owned company said it had “violated[ed] our Creator Responsibility policy.”
BBC and Channel 4 cut ties
He could have a significant impact, with social media experts speculating he could earn between £2,000 and £4,000 per video on the website, given his huge following of 6.6 million subscribers.
Meanwhile, the BBC removed a 2018 QI episode with Brand as a panelist and a Joe Wicks podcast in which he appeared as a guest from 2021, which were available on iPlayer until Monday night.
A spokesperson for the corporation said this was because it had “assessed that it is now below public expectations”.
Channel 4 also removed episodes featuring him from its streaming service, including an episode of Celebrity Bake Off where he made an edible vagina.
Acast, the podcast company, announced Tuesday that it has disabled ads on Brand’s Under The Skin podcast “immediately” following news of recent allegations made against the comedian.
Brand also resigned from two of his businesses, One Arm Bandit and Mayfair Film Partnership Limited, a film production company of which he was a director.
