Megyn Kelly is drawing a line in the sand with conservatives who are vociferously defending entertainer Russell Brand despite the rape allegations against him.
The comedian and actor has been accused by four women of rape, sexual assault and emotional abuse between 2006 and 2013, according to a joint investigation by The Sunday Times, The Times and Channel 4 Dispatches. One of the alleged victims was a 16-year-old girl.
He has strongly denied what he described as “very serious criminal allegations,” saying in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that his relationships were “always consensual.” He suggested that the two “mainstream media outlets are making a coordinated attack” against him.
Newsweek reached out to Brand through his website for further comment.
Phillip Faraone/Getty Images; Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images
Kelly, the former Fox News host who hosts The Megyn Kelly Show on SiriusXM, told GB (Great Britain) News host Dan Wootton on Wednesday that some conservatives’ willingness to blindly defend Brand based on his political proclivities is alarming.
“You know, not to take anything away from these reporters, but I think that there should be a higher standard before we take a man’s living away,” Kelly said. “However, we cannot go from the absurdity of believe all women, which was never the right way, into the absurdity of believe no women. And that’s what we’re now doing.
“And so people need to take a pause before they resort to the knee-jerk. He didn’t do it because he’s an alternative media voice. He didn’t do it because he’s on our side. And I hate to see conservatives, who for the most part Dan, are supposed to eschew celebrity culture, act like lap dogs to Russell Brand—just because he’s winked at their side.”
Kelly said investigations like these take a lot of time and effort from multiple journalists. She specifically alluded to the retrieval of medical records from a victim in Los Angeles who reportedly was treated at a rape crisis center the same day Brand allegedly raped her against a wall in his L.A. home.
“I don’t really care if it turns out that the rape charges or sexual assault charges fall apart,” Kelly said, with the caveat that most conservative men she knows are ethical. “You’re 31 years old and you have sex allegedly over a three-month period with a 16-year old? We’re done. I’m unsubscribing.
“And I am sick of conservatives online trying to defend that as though she had a role in it. She was a minor. Just because you can’t be prosecuted for it doesn’t mean it’s right.”
Brand has maintained that he has been transparent about his previous relationships being consensual.
“These allegations pertain to the time when I was working in the mainstream, when I was in the newspapers all the time, when I was in the movies, and as I’ve written about extensively in my books, I was very, very promiscuous,” he said.
Brand has received support from Elon Musk, Tucker Carlson, Alex Jones and Andrew Tate, the latter of whom was arrested in December along with his brother, Tristan, and four others on human trafficking charges. Andrew Tate was also charged with two counts of rape.
Conservative influencer Jordan Peterson described the timing of the allegations as “convenient” considering Brand’s foray into the political arena, where he has openly discussed and challenged Big Pharma and the military-industrial complex.
Kelly defended Brand when it came to YouTube’s decision to stop allowing him to monetize and earn income based on streams to his page and videos.
“I have no desire to see Russell Brand’s life dismantled and his ability to earn a living taken away from him based on allegations that are 10 years old, that have not been investigated by a court of law or any legal officer or in any legal proceeding,” Kelly told Wootten.
“I disagree with the YouTube move entirely. They should allow his fans to have access to him. This is the democracy version of the internet. Like, why is YouTube virtue signaling with this? His fans should have access to him and he should not be deprived of his ability to make a living.”