Now we’ll see how many bought Brand’s anti-‘mainstream media’ shtick

Russell Brand told Lorraine Kelly: ‘If you’re in a position of some success, people will let you be a nutter as long as they’re making money out of it.’ Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The Guardian

Russell Brand has spent the past decade telling the world not to trust the mainstream media industry. Now the comedian will find out whether the wider public has bought into this scorched-earth narrative – or if they believe the claims of rape and sexual assault reported in the Sunday Times and on Channel 4 over the weekend.

The allegations against Brand – which he denies – once again leave the British media industry reeling from claims that a prominent man was able to misuse his position for sexual pleasure.