Vocal Voices

I just caught a bit of the TV program last night, the one making very serious allegations about him.

It's a strange one. If he's done these things then surely the right thing to do would be to take it to the police?
Why make a program on national TV about it? Because now Brand can turn around and say "How can I get a fair trial after that?"

I've never liked Russell Brand and still don't, but this is not the right way to do things.

Rape and sexual assault are said to be the most traumatising and damaging events that can happen to anyone. With those in mind I cannot get my head round why people would not report them immediately. Keeping the memories locked away, sometimes for decades, could well be as damaging, mentally, as the physical events themselves.

I also really do not like Brand, bur I agree, the way this news has broken could give him the claim to not be able to get a fair hearing. That could do as much damage to his alleged victims as the original attacks. It cannot be good for their present wellbeing. Strange.

I think there will be many more male "celebrities" and men in positions of power who are going to be outed before all this is over. As for the method of outing, it's the perennial question - how can you take it to the police if you haven't got absolute proof? It's merely "she said, he said" and probably wouldn't even make it to the courts. So anything that actually damages the perpetrator's standing / reputation like these "revelations" are probably the only way for a "victim" to exact revenge; Brand has already been ditched by his agency and presumably his current tour will be cancelled.

I'm not a fan of his, he's not a nice individual, so I'm certainly not going to champion him.

He's always given me the creeps, so this doesn't surprise me.

Kaz wrote:He's always given me the creeps

Same for a lot of people I think Kaz.

I really do not like Brand, and he also gives me the creeps. However, I keep asking myself why his accusers held off for so long before coming forward. It seems to be a trend. He's not the first.

Young, underage girls, in Rochdale, Rotherham, Oldham, Huddersfield, Bradford etc. kept quiet. Understandably. They were groomed and fed on drugs, alcohol, expensive gifts and the threats of violence, so it's understandable. It only took one to escape and come forward for the police and social services to act; otherwise they did nothing.

These latest "victims" are not of that sort. They were in well paid jobs and, sometimes, powerful positions, so I do wonder.

I am in no way supporting Brand, but I do wonder what is going on.

cromwell wrote:I just caught a bit of the TV program last night, the one making very serious allegations about him.

It's a strange one. If he's done these things then surely the right thing to do would be to take it to the police?
Why make a program on national TV about it? Because now Brand can turn around and say "How can I get a fair trial after that?"

I've never liked Russell Brand and still don't, but this is not the right way to do things.

You have to destroy the myth before you can then get a fair hearing on the rest of it. But, then again, we've seen situations where the police followed through on "allegations" even though they were given evidence to disprove the claims.

The entire situation is a mess and the CPS and the police have to own some of the blame for it.

Plus there is also the situation where people who stand up and say things which are not liked suddenly find they are in the middle of a firestorm of allegations. For the specific purpose of shutting them down.

The whole situation is a mess and I have no idea how it will ever be fixed now.

PS: Brand is a creep. Severely dislike the guy. But I would like to know he is being burned at the stake for the right reasons.

I dont dislike Russell Brand as the persona, but I think I would strongly dislike Russell Brand the person.

But that said he has never hidden the fact he is seriously messed up, he has had a sex addiction and he is or was completely out of control when it comes to the opposite sex.

What happened to anonymity when someone is accused of rape until proven guilty? And how can he have raped more than one person and nothing ever been said before?

Huw Edwards outed by The Sun, and its The Sun's fault. Russell Brand outed by The Times, oh completely different league.

And back to Philip Schofield, I still dont get how he lost everything and yet seems to have been misguided, a bit silly but not much more

Not just double standards but treble standards now

miasmum wrote:What happened to anonymity when someone is accused of rape until proven guilty?

Difference between being tried by the courts and tried by the media.... One has due process and the other just has revenue.

miasmum wrote:Huw Edwards outed by The Sun, and its The Sun's fault. Russell Brand outed by The Times, oh completely different league.

Huw Edwards holds the "correct" views, Russell Brand is nowadays seen as a conspiracy theorist. Fair treatment seems to depend on what you believe.