JVL and Will Sommer share their takes on new charges against Russell Brand, including multiple counts of sexual assault in the UK. They discuss how Brand’s shift from entertainer to spiritual conservative figure fits a broader pattern of public figures seeking refuge in right-wing circles amid scandal and question the sincerity of such transformations. What’s behind MAGA’s readiness to defend accused predators, and why does Brand’s “faith” look suspiciously convenient?
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Yeah, JVL, you rrally need to devote a column to explain what you think was funny on that Mika bit.
Several years ago, I thought Russell was kind of funny in a snarky way. He could make cheeky fun of himself, and I respected that. But he has fallen into a very unfunny sexist ditch. He aspires to irony, but he should stop trying to be a poor man's Christopher Hitchens.
That was weird. Was it me? No, nope cause I was just listening to podcast, it was def not me. Oof.
JVL being the sort of truly decent person he is I hope he doesn't take the adverse comments here as detestation. Quite the opposite.
I and I think all of us here respect, admire, and hold you in our hearts. It is a rare and beautiful soul who humbly tries with all the (manifold) talents he has been blessed with to live these words of Thomas Merton:
"Instead of hating the people you think are war-makers, hate the appetites and disorder in your own soul, which are the causes of war. If you love peace, then hate injustice, hate tyranny, hate greed - but hate these things in yourself, not in another."
Please accept as caritas the (hopefully) gentle words of your most sincere family.... all of whom are sinners ourselves. Including us atheists
Feet of clay
I admire JVL but what the fuck was funny about the Russell Brand "joke" or "jest" about the apparently exposed mammaries of his interlocutor on some entertainment talk show or podcast or whatever it was we heard on the podcast?
Sorry luv but I'm only human? I have instincts?
That wasn't funny. It was revolting.
I happen to be male and I happen to appreciate that women are beautiful. (Also smart, wise, clever, foolish, obnoxious, delightful, corrupt and all the other virtues and follies of all genders of the species.) Not only for -- in fact, not even mostly for -- to a non trivial extent the arrangement of adipose tissue in the female human primate. Said arrangements of adipose tissue remains even at my advanced age something that does not escape attention.
This is because of evolution. It's fun and appropriate. And it's one which, under the right circumstances, such an appreciation properly expressed can be reciprocably appreciated. By the gender addressed.
But nothing is funny about a power situation under which a talk show female host has to make light of a stupid sexual reference as if it were not a grotesque appeal to 7th grade level yuck yuch boy girl misogyny.
If someone can explain what is actually humorous about this I will retract. In the meantime -- what did your spouse think of it?
I’m usually with JVL and am grateful for the frankness that he and everyone at The Bulwark speaks with.
And, I came here to say this. Having the instinct is human. What brand did was a reflection of his true character. It is exactly because we excuse this behavior as funny that it persists. In fact, that makes it even more sinister than the overt violence people that Tate and others like him champion. We still have a lot of work to do on this topic and I also don’t want to kick a person down. Let this be a collective lesson that we all need to examine and dismantle what keeps us stuck here.
No, guys: I ask you to reconsider. His stupid, obvious, cheap moment with Mika was not funny. It was no more than what women have to deal with again and again and again -- nothing novel or funny about it. No decent man would have done what he did -- and it does seem all of a piece with the allegations against him, doesn't it?
I hate it that women have to put up with this shit. And I am no paragon. I like women. I like the way they look. But I can't see anything funny about jokes about their anatomy. (My own anatomy, fair game -- I have mirrors in my house and honesty compels me to acknowledge that my own physiognomy presents a justly risible spectacle for the entertainment of the world.)
I find the Russel Brand faux I'm a Christian now so offensive. I wasn't there. I don't know if he raped these women, but he was admitted sex addict. I am a former fan, too.
No, JVL, that was not the funniest moment in cable news, or whatever. I hope you were being ironic.
It was not funny at all, in my opinion. It was Brand turning any moment with a female into a sexual encounter. He was completely on brand for being a cad and a sexual predator. I a word, disgusting.
What I wrote too. Funny? Revolting.
I just have to say that the thumbnail of JVL seemingly looking askance at ol' Russell is pretty great in its own right. Kudos, Hannah!
Englands Charles Manson
He can find Jesus in jail. Penance motherfucker.
This so tracks. I know a MAHA person in town who loves Russell Brand and I can’t wait to stalk her to see how she posts about this.
all the tin foil hats have migrated to MAGA...MAHA
Yes. It’s so weird to see the transformation.
Funny? ANY of this? Too much laughter, guys. This man is disgusting. A charge of rape and sexual assault doesn’t need us to remember anything at this moment that you might once have found funny.
Not funny.
Weird. I usually like transgressive humor but I did not find the way Brand behaved toward Brezinkski when she was just trying to do her job funny. Would you want your daughter treated that way at work (even if she “dressed like she was asking for it”?)
No excuse for treating a woman as meat. "Even" i n jest. Some jest. Make fun of her stupidity if you can, fair game. Condemn her for mendacity, lying, and hypocrisy . Jest about her clumsiness onstage. Gossip about her character resemblance to Cruella de Ville..
Otherwise-- just keep your piehole shut. Her body is no one's damned business anyone is entitled to refer to publicly. Unless she brings it up.
Even Bill Clinton of contemptible memory (as far as we know) never "jested" about the busts of the women he ... engaged with.
Yeah I was a little disappointed to see JVL insisting this was “absolutely hilarious”. Maybe I’m just a woke lib after all 😉
I have to confess I have more than once made contumacious remarks about the physical appearance of several prominent MAGA females. Not approbative— But only those who appear to me to have made an effort to leverage their appearance to generate interest to advance their political interests. A little conflicted on my part perhaps but the way we all dress and exhibit ourselves in public is not unrelated to our social objectives.
I agree that it’s not a cut-and-dried, black and white thing. But I also think we can agree that Russell was over the line. Maybe the line is fuzzy and there are a lot of edge cases. But this wasn’t one of those, imo.
Agreed.
So this means Russell Brand now possesses all the prerequisites deemed necessary by the administration for a Cabinet post? In case Hegseth goes?
If not a Cabinet post, at least a few gigs at the Kennedy Center.
That was the first time I’ve seen that cable bit. Cheesy line that might have played on the
Borscht belt. And just makes him sound like a perv, which he clearly is.
I humbly assert as a woman raised pentacostal charismaniac evangelical, one of three girls, forced into a Christian high school and sent to a Christian college… when the evangelical maga church/evangelicals get out their big ol’ “Jesus” stamp there is nothing a male can do that they won’t find a way to blame away.
These church’s shield sex offenders, pedophiles, and abusers. Robert Morris ,recently indicted Texas mega church pastor and former member of trumps religious entourage, he was just charged in March with having abused a 12 yr old girl for years. Starting in the 1980s and if you want to see the depravity of using Jesus and and forgiveness in The worst ways possible… see this story(AP covered and so did USA today). One thing that stood out to me is that the victim(he started abusing her when she was 12 years old and it went on for 5 years) after the robert was outed and confronted the victim was forced to ask the wife for forgiveness. There is evil and then there is whatever the hell that is. The victim of repeated sexual molestation is forced to ask for forgiveness from the wife (yes she stayed with this pedo) the perpetrators wife, and the perpetrator gets a little corrective education under the guidance of the church leaders… not the law! take a moment if you need to clean up that vomit.
Children are forced to ask their father for forgiveness when their fathers beat them and their mothers allow it.
Sadly this isn’t new or isolated.
There is a version of evangelical Christian that was so twisted to begin with that they have been easily and totally corrupted by Trump and his band of boobs with no effort at all, they were happy to endorse anyone as long as they could “Jesus” stamp him.
Russell found the group that would provide him cove and it was this group.
Then they got to Jesus stamping the crap out of every question asked.
Personally, I believe there are people of faith and true devotion in most faith groups.
Sadly, many of these churches are nothing but child predator rings, havens for abusive men and support groups for enabling women. When your told its “temptation” and everything is the devils fault then it’s easy for weak men to take no accountability and no ownership… blame and move on to a new victim maybe a new church, and when caught get the Jesus stamp and repeat.
Maybe the motivating initial impetus in my journey to atheism. That and realizing that aside from the whole thing being an obvious con it not only didn't explain anything but empirically provided no double-blind testable propositions that could be validated.
I admit I'm a little taken with the sermon on the mount, though.
Ask Sarah if she thinks that's funny.
So disappointed in you JVL. That is NOT funny at all. That is a disgusting display of sexual harrassment. Not funny: red flag revealing himself as a sexual predator on live TV in Mika's place of work. C'mon man!
DO BETTER!
Same thing I said. Maybe this is part of the professional wrestling thing.
JVL, we don't think less of your for this. We just are surprised at it.
JVL, the flip to maga is just another form of owning the libs.
Fyi there's no pro Russell Brand thing here
Fun fact: in 2013, Scott Alexander wrote a piece on his old Slate Star Codex website that refers to Russell Brand as a staunch liberal to illustrate the concept of political polarization. It's unbelievable to go back and read that now.
He is a total liberal. But one that hates the government.
Sorry JVL you talk about consent.
When you have sex with several girls a night, every night for years. How can you remember which ones where consensual?
He was very funny and a contrarian. he took it too far on the bbc and then has been antiestabliment ever since
I knew people around Russell in the 2000s and went to his gigs and after drinks. Courtney Love buying me a drink was a highlight.
But never really met Russell as there were the girls he'd pick out of the crowd
It’s been a while since Catholic school but I think it’s okay to be skeptical. God gave you eyes and ears and brain cells to rub together.
JVL That wasn't even close to funny and obviously Mika didn't think so either. You are way funnier than that beady eyed creep ever tried to be. And you're nice..
It's incredible that a Catholic, potty-mouthed chauvinist "comedian", MAGA convert man-child has skeletons related to sexual impropriety. I'm shocked.
Dr Ruth Ben-Ghiat just did a q & a for Wired about how dictators come to power. She articulated very well the through line between authoritarianism & misogyny & rape.
He’ll have a big bunch to welcome him. 🤮
When the "cycling thru characters" was mentioned all I could think was WRESTLING! JVL does everything come back to wrestling?!
Who cares what his beliefs are? Accountability isn’t negated by conversion. Throw his ass in jail where he can grow his faith through adversity.
There is a non-zero chance he'll try to flee to the US looking for asylum. And even more of a chance that the maga cinematic universe will scream 'politically motivated prosecution' to Trump in an attempt to avoid extradition.
I’m not surprised, I read RBs book on recovery from drug and sex addiction a long time ago , and honestly it was one of the funniest books I’ve ever read . I adored him as a comedian but he was red pilled and went the MAGA way . There is something about that mindset that is so disturbing concerning the treatment of women . SICK
And the dude is funny. He always made me laugh even back when he spouted Marxist (and it was straight out of Marx ; not exaggerating) rubbish. He is a West Ham supporter though and those guys are trouble
Funny ha ha or funny peculiar or funny no no not at all.
Maybe funny here and there. The "joke" about decolletage -- fail. Rape of the Sabine women, what a thigh slapper.
Most, if not all, the far right "Catholics" are far from true Catholicism. Catholics in name only.
Maybe. Hope you are right. What if the TRuE catholic is MAGA?
I'm a devout Catholic, and far, far away from MAGA. I consider myself a centrist as I vote both Democrat and Republican.
Good on you. As a practicing atheist (practicing because, hey, life is all about getting better, snd that takes practice) I happen to admire many catholics. For instance Thomas Merton. If you have never read him I really think you would love his memoir The Seven Storey Mountain. I think we can learn ftom Merton (Catholic and otherwise) how to seek and be true to truth.
Russell Brand has been all over the place politically and spiritually in his life. It’s ridiculous to claim that he suddenly converted to Christianity and flirted with the populist alt right to avoid prosecution. These allegations (and I don’t doubt them) allegedly happened many years ago when he was one of the favorites of the left. If anything he was protected his entire life from a friendly admiring liberal media
The entertainment industry protected him
I agree. To a point. But he was under huge scrutiny by the UK press (mostly not liberal). He was never a lefty favourite. He was funny and a personality.
Name the liberal media that protected him? It was the liberal media that exposed him.
At various times Brand worked for the BBC and virtually every other British broadcaster in the media. And while the British print media is more conservative than American (or at least more diverse), TV, film and radio media trend very left. Up until the last few years, Brand was notorious for harassing women throughout his life. His sex addiction was incredible and the Mika incident was nothing in comparison. When the Me Too movement started, people in the know were shocked that he wasn’t exposed then. Some speculated it was because the media liked him and sympathied with his views. He wasn’t exposed until he started to drift from the crazy left to the crazy alt right, got married and professed Christianity. Then, these accusations (which are very old and people in the entertainment industry apparently knew about for years) suddenly came to light. Coincidence? Perhaps, but the narrative JvL is giving maybe the exact opposite.
Out of left field on that one...who would have guessed? Wait...what?
No. Wasn’t funny.
My reaction, too.
He is such a glib arse. So not surprised.
But, but.. I thought it was the trans community and drag performers??? Isn’t that what the right has been claiming for years???