Russell Brand Jokes About Unwanted Touching at MAHA Summit Ahead of Rape Trial
The comedian, facing multiple sexual assault charges, made a quip while moderating a panel at the Make America Healthy Again summit.
Comedian Russell Brand, who is set to stand trial in the United Kingdom on multiple charges of rape and sexual assault, moderated a panel at the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) summit. During the event, Brand responded to a slight delay in his appearance by joking about initiating physical contact with Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins.
Dr. Mehmet Oz, moderator of the panel on reforms to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), noted that Brand had been hugging Rollins backstage. Brand then quipped, "She initiated that contact; I should make clear," drawing laughter from the audience.
The trial for Brand is scheduled to begin on October 12, with accusations from six women spanning from 1999 to the 2000s. The charges include rape, oral rape, sexual assault, and assault. Brand has consistently denied the allegations, pleading not guilty and asserting that he has never engaged in nonconsensual sexual activity. He was released on conditional bail last year.
In a previous video statement addressing the charges, Brand stated, "I was a fool before I lived in the light of the Lord. I was a drug addict, a sex addict and an imbecile. But what I never was, was a rapist. I’ve never engaged in nonconsensual activity."
Brand has also publicly acknowledged a past encounter with a then-16-year-old girl when he was 30, describing it as "exploitative" despite the age of consent in the UK at the time being 16. One accuser has alleged that Brand raped her without protection at her Los Angeles home around 2012, according to reports by The Sunday Times and Channel 4.
Brand has been a supporter of the MAHA movement. The summit aimed to highlight the movement's achievements and future agenda. Also present at the summit was former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson, who participated in a panel on brain damage. Tyson was previously convicted of rape in the 1990s and served three years in prison.
Other speakers at the MAHA conference, held at the DC Waldorf Astoria, were slated to include Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., his wife Cheryl Hines, and Vice President JD Vance.