Now that Russell Brand has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after being convicted of multiple charges of sexual assault, past statements made about the British comedian are surfacing.
One of these comes from Australian singer Dannii Minogue, who shared her unsettling experience after appearing on one of Brand’s TV shows 20 years earlier.
‘A Vile Predator’
In 2006, Brand was hosting “1 Leicester Square,” a short-lived talk show for MTV UK. During the show’s brief run, Minogue appeared as a guest.
Speaking with The Mirror shortly after being interviewed by Brand, the pop star recounted how he relentlessly chased her down a hallway gushing about her “fabulous breasts” while “pestering” her for her phone number.
“He is completely crazy and a bit of a vile predator,” Minogue told the Mirror in 2006.
“I certainly don’t think he has cured his sex addiction, that’s for sure. He wouldn’t take no for an answer,” she shared.
“He always goes that step too far. Never quite far enough to slap his face, but usually too far,” the singer continued
“He’s obviously very intelligent — but he wears more makeup than I do,” she added. “Normally I love guys with eyeliner on. It can be very sexy, but not on Russell. Absolutely no way, never, he’s just not my type.”
Reflecting on her experience with Brand, she said, “I was told he got sacked from MTV in the past for wearing an Osama bin Laden costume to work the day after September 11. I couldn’t believe that I’d just agreed to be interviewed by someone who would do something like that, it really unnerved me.”
She also admitted that his behavior during the interview was wildly inappropriate. “And then throughout the whole interview he kept making shocking remarks that I can’t even repeat,” she said. “Just uttering the words would make me blush.”
A 10-Year Sentence
Brand has been sentenced to 10 years and six months in prison, four days after a London jury found him guilty on four sexual assault charges.
When reading the sentence to Brand, Judge Joel Bennathan commented on how Brand’s fame had allowed him to get away with his crimes for decades.
“About 20 years ago, Russell Brand, you were becoming famous,” Bennathan old the disgraced comedian, reported Sky News.
“You were clever and, in many people’s eyes, funny and charismatic. You had also become a sexual predator,” the judge continued.
“Your status protected you until 2023, when journalists collected and published the allegations that were broadcast as a Channel Four documentary, and in articles in the Times newspapers,” he told Brand.
“Those public declarations that you were a sex offender empowered a number of women to come forward and tell their stories of your activities many years before,” he added.
“I now have to sentence you for the crimes you committed against four women between 2004 and 2009,” he said before issuing the sentence.
Famed Singer Issued a Chilling Warning About ‘Predator’ Russell Brand — Two Decades Before His Conviction