Russell Brand’s dad has come to his son’s defence after the comedian faced a slew of new sexual abuse allegations.
The remaining shows on the comedian’s Bipolarisation tour have been postponed as the Metropolitan Police said it has received a report of an alleged sexual assault in the wake of media allegations against him.
The 48-year-old has been accused of rape, assault and emotional abuse between 2006 and 2013, when he was at the height of his fame working for the BBC, Channel 4 and starring in Hollywood films.
Brand has strongly denied the allegations, which also include claims of controlling, abusive and predatory behaviour.
Posting on Facebook, Brand’s dad said that the recent claims against his son are “unproven”.
In his post, which appears to have either been deleted or just shared with friends, he also suggested there was a “vendetta” against Russell, 48, at the BBC.
“Is this seriously the most important thing happening in this world? Immigrants? Cost of living? 10s of thousands killed in Ukraine?” Ron wrote.
“Who is prioritising [sic] at BBC News. Who is really driving this vendetta?” he went on.
“With many struggling to pay bills. The unproven accusations of 15 years ago take lead on BBC News?”
In a separate Facebook post, he reportedly added: “The Russell Brand Vendetta. Like a man who owns an orchard being accused of stealing an apple?”
The father-son duo have a bizarre relationship that’s been well documented over the years, including in Russell’s 2007 autobiography, “My Booky Wook”, in which he shared a story about losing his virginity while his dad was in the same room.
“The episode that defined my relationship with women occurred in Hong Kong with my dad. I was 17. On day one we went to some sleazy dive. Before long I was sat on a bar stool with a Filipino called Mary-Lou,” he wrote at the time. “Then we were leaving in a cab with three Asian prostitutes my dad was drunkenly herding.”
Russell went on to describe his first sexual experience, which took place in a twin bed beside his father, who was sleeping with two prostitutes at the time.
“I sat on the edge of the other twin bed. She must have known I was a virgin as soon as the bungling encounter commenced,” Russell wrote.
“I stroked Mary-Lou’s hair and kissed her cheek and traced my finger down her perfect nose, scored by the cacophony from the adjacent bedlam, ‘Yeah, come on!’ and ‘Phwooar, you’re juicy’,” he continued.
“During the rest of that holiday I f – ked loads more prostitutes and never wore a condom. It had hardened me. My sexuality had morphed forever from bewildered innocence into something more complex and rapacious.”
Related: Monetisation on Russell Brand’s YouTube channel suspended
