Russell Brand has been accused of rape, sexual assault and emotional abuse by four women – including one who was a teen at the time of the alleged incident.
The women all share their stories as part of a joint investigation by The Times and Channel 4's Dispatches, which will air a special episode covering the allegations tonight.
Russell, 48, strongly denied the alleged incidents – which took place between 2006 and 2013 at the height of his fame – in a preemptive YouTube video, which he posted on Friday night.
In the video, he said: "I’ve received two extremely disturbing letters – well a letter and an email – one from a mainstream media TV company, one from a newspaper listing a litany of extremely egregious and aggressive attacks – as well as some pretty stupid stuff.
"Amidst this litany of astonishing, rather baroque attacks are some very serious allegations that I absolutely refute. These allegations pertain to the time when I was working in the mainstream, when I was in the newspapers all the time, when I was in the movies.
"As I’ve written about extensively in my books, I was very very promiscuous. During that time of promiscuity the relationships I had were absolutely always consensual."
He continued to address his six million YouTube subscribers: "I was always transparent about that then, almost too transparent, and I’m being transparent about it now, as well.
"And to see the transparency metastasized into something criminal, that I absolutely deny, makes me think, 'Is there another agenda at play?'"
In the wake of the #MeToo movement, the actor and comedian previously said he had no regrets about his previous sexual behaviour, claiming to have had intimate relationships with hundreds of women in the past.
In 2008, Brand made headlines for his BBC Radio 2 prank, now known as Sachsgate, when he left a “lewd” voicemail for Fawlty Towers actor Andrew Sachs – who died in 2016 – about his granddaughter.
Brand was married to US pop star Katy Perry from 2010 to 2012 but is now married to Laura Gallacher, the sister of presenter Kirsty, and the pair have two children, Mabel and Peggy.
The full allegations will be aired on Channel 4 at 9pm in a special episode of Dispatches titled Russell Brand: In Plain Sight.
The show's official X – formerly known as Twitter – account says: "For more than a year, @C4Dispatches and @thetimes have been investigating Russell Brand’s treatment of women.
"Accusations include incidents which took place within the work environment of primetime TV shows.
"@C4Dispatches and @thetimes spoke to people who accuse @channel4 and the @BBC of failing to act against Brand."
They continued: "Channel 4 say they have carried out extensive document searches and have found no evidence to suggest the alleged incidents on its programmes were brought to the attention of Channel 4.
"Channel 4 say today they have a zero-tolerance approach to unacceptable behaviour and a robust Code of Conduct…
"The BBC said: 'We have clear expectations around conduct at work, these are set out in employment contracts, the BBC Values, the BBC Code of Conduct and the Anti-Bullying and Harassment Policy.'"
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