Jimmy Fallon can be seen in a newly resurfaced clip scolding Russell Brand for making Katharine McPhee uncomfortable by bouncing her on his lap.
The clip began making the rounds onling after a joint investigation by The Sunday Times, The Times, and Channel 4 Dispatches revealed four women have made allegations of rape, sexual assault, and emotional abuse against Brand.
The victims allege that his actions took place between 2006 and 2013 when Brand was a presenter for both BBC Radio 2 and Channel 4. Before the investigation was published, he took to Instagram to disavow and deny the accusations.
In light of the recent allegations against Brand, an old clip resurfaced of the stand-up comic’s 2013 appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon in which he tried to flirt with the American Idol alum to the point that she appeared visibly uncomfortable.
In the interview, Brand refused to move out of the interview chair when McPhee - who was married at the time - stepped on stage as the second guest of the night.
Brand then grabbed McPhee’s hand and the actress jokingly sat on his lap. Brand told Jimmy: “She’s welcome to sit here.” Then, Fallon realised exactly what Brand planned to do and begged him, “No Russell, don’t even say ‘For the Queen’, you can’t.”
The Forgetting Sarah Marshall actor then shouted, “For the Queen,” and suggestively bounced McPhee on his lap, who immediately lept up in shock. Fallon appeared visibly stressed, running a hand over his face as Brand shamelessly told the singer, “You’re beautiful.”
Russell Brand leaves the Troubabour Wembley Park theatre in north-west London after performing a comedy set. He faces claims about his sexual behaviour at the height of his fame. He has vehemently denied the allegations. Picture date: Saturday September 16, 2023.— (PA)
“Russell, please stop. Look away,” Fallon admonished him. But Brand, who rose to fame for his crude comedic persona, doubled down: “I’ll just sit here with my sexual charisma.”
He continued to attempt to flirt with McPhee throughout the rest of the interview.
He told the audience, “As you know, I’ve announced it, I find Katharine very attractive and I think when she said ‘exchange numbers,’ I thought of things I’d like to exchange with her.”
Katharine McPhee attends the 2020 Breakthrough Prize Red Carpet at NASA Ames Research Center on November 03, 2019 in Mountain View, California.— (Getty Images for Breakthrough P)
The comedian then shouted, “Numbers. Genes. Genetic info. Data.” But it was only when Fallon made a point of bringing up McPhee’s husband at the time, Nick Cokas, that Brand finally laid off the flirting, “I didn’t know you were married. I’m going to f*** off now.”
The clip has resurfaced amid both the BBC and Channel 4’s decision to launch internal investigations into separate accusations that have been levelled against the stand-up comedian. Former staff and audience members have accused the comedian of predatory behaviour during his time as a presenter.
According to The Daily Telegraph, programs with appearances from Brand have been scrubbed from Channel 4’s website such as episodes of The Great British Bake Off and box sets of Big Brother’s Big Mouth.
The Metropolitan Police Service reportedly plans on making further inquiries with the victims and also announced that it would be speaking with BBC and Channel 4 about the allegations.
A spokesperson for the force said: “We will be making further approaches to the Sunday Times and Channel 4 to ensure that any victims of crime who they have spoken with are aware of how they may report any criminal allegations to police.”
