BBC Apologizes as Russell Brand Review Finds Employees “Joked About” Host Exposing Himself

BBC Apologizes as Russell Brand Review Finds Employees “Joked About” Host Exposing Himself

The BBC has apologized to members of staff affected by the behavior of Russell Brand, whose status as one of the corporation’s top presenters made employees believe “he would always get his way, and therefore they stayed silent.”

The BBC on Thursday published the findings of a review carried out into Brand’s conduct during his time at the channel, in particular for 6 Music and Radio 2, between 2006 and 2008. It follows extensive allegations against Brand — including of sexual harassment and rape — that came to light in 2023.

The review was carried out by Peter Johnston, the BBC’s director of editorial complaints and reviews, at the request of director-general Tim Davie. Johnston investigated eight complaints, two of which were made while Brand worked for the BBC.

Only one specific formal complaint was made by a BBC employee in 2007 when Brand urinated in a cup during the recording of a Radio 2 show, Johnston’s report said, and into a bottle during a second show. He also “behaved in an aggressive manner, throwing objects at the screen in anger when a mistake was made by the production team during that second show.” While the complaint was raised verbally with the then-Controller, Johnston admitted it was “not dealt with effectively.” After the complaint was filed, the employee did not work on the show again at their request.

Another allegation Johnston looked into detailed how Brand exposed himself to a woman in the bathroom of L.A.’s BBC bureau. A complaint was made but the incident was considered “fairly common knowledge” in the bureau and “often ‘joked about’”. Johnston was told by the woman involved that she “she felt embarrassed and did not want to raise it or talk about it, so instead treated it lightly when it came up.”

Amid rumors from staff that Brand brought groups of women into the office and had sex in the staff toilets, Johnston wrote: “A few most closely involved in the shows, described Russell Brand as promiscuous or out-of-control, but said that they did not witness anything non-consensual or potentially illegal, nor did they make complaints about this at the time.”

In conclusion, Johnston outlined only the first formal complaint as an example of where the BBC process didn’t deal with Brand appropriately. Other than that, he found no evidence that Brand’s behavior was raised with management formally at the time.

However, he said, “What is clear is that many BBC staff and freelancers, especially in more junior roles, found Russell Brand demanding and difficult to work with and his behavior extreme, but all felt that there was no point in complaining as they believed they would not be listened to and, rightly or wrongly, that Russell Brand as a high-profile presenter had the support of the station management.”

A BBC representative said in a statement on Thursday: “It is clear that presenters have been able to abuse their positions at the BBC in the past,” before outlining changes made to their system to ensure it doesn’t happen again, including a centralized and standardized complaint process and bolstering its an anti-bullying and harassment policy.

The corporation is aware that the Metropolitan Police are investigating Brand for a number of allegations of sexual offenses in London and elsewhere in the U.K., following a joint investigation into Brand by Channel 4’s Dispatches, The Times and The Sunday Times in September 2023. The former comedian and presenter has denied all allegations made against him.