Russell Branded boasted about “planting one” on Meghan Markle in a movie they appeared in together in a resurfaced clip from 2018.
While on ITV’s Loose Women just days before Meghan’s wedding to Harry, the stand-up comedian recalled what it was like to film 2010’s Get Him To The Greek with the soon-to-be royal.
“Is it true that you’ve snogged Meghan Markle?” one of the co-hosts asked. “As a matter of fact, it is,” Brand replied, much to the audience’s excitement. “But let me say before we get carried away. She was in a film that I was in, Get Him to the Greek, it was a good film.”
At the time, Brand said he had no idea who she was primarily because she “wasn’t married to a royal person.”
On the kiss with the Duchess of Sussex, Brand noted that it took place during a scripted scene, “I don’t remember the film that much, I think I planted one on her in the scene.” He told the co-hosts, “I only know this because I think I saw a clip of it somewhere. Meghan Markle, there we go.”
The 2018 interview resurfaced Brand’s resurfaced interview comes a few days after allegations accusing the Rock of Ages actor of raping and sexually assaulting four women in the UK and Los Angeles between 2006 and 2013 were brought to light in a joint investigation by The Sunday Times, The Times, and Channel 4 Dispatches. The alleged incidents reportedly occurred during Brand’s stint as a presenter for both BBC Radio 2 and Channel 4.
According to The Sunday Times, one woman who went by the pseudonym “Nadia” told the outlet that Brand had sexually assaulted her against the wall of her Los Angeles home in 2012, and the same day, she was treated at a rape crisis centre. Nadia, according to text messages cited by the report, texted Brand, “When a girl [says] NO, it means no,” and he reportedly replied, “Very sorry.”
Russell Brand speaks onstage during MusiCares Person of the Year honoring Aerosmith at West Hall at Los Angeles Convention Center on January 24, 2020 in Los Angeles, California.— (Getty Images)
Another alleged victim, who went by the pseudonym “Alice” told the outlet that she was sixteen when Brand assaulted her during their alleged “emotionally abusive and controlling” three-month relationship. She was reportedly attending secondary school at the time, and Alice claimed that Brand would send a BBC car to pick her up after school to see him.
Brand vehemently denied any wrongdoing in an Instagram video.
“I have received two extremely disturbing letters, or a letter and an email, one from a mainstream media TV company, one from a newspaper, listing a litany of egregious and aggressive attacks,” Brand shared on the social media platform. “Amidst this litany of astonishing, rather baroque attacks, are some very serious allegations that I absolutely refute.”
Meghan Markle chats with people inside the Drawing Room during a visit to Cardiff Castle on January 18, 2018 in Cardiff, Wales.— (Getty Images)
“When I was in the movies and as I’ve written about extensively in my books, I was very, very promiscuous,” the actor added. “During that time of promiscuity, the relationships that I had were absolutely always consensual.”
Many clips of past interviews with Russell Brand, famous for his outrageous, crude comedic persona, have aged poorly in the eyes of the public. Due to public pressure, 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, according to The Daily Telegraph.
The BBC and Channel 4 have also decided 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. The investigation came on the heels of The Metropolitan Police Service issuing a statement that they plan on making “further approaches” with BBC and Channel 4 about the allegations.
