YouTube suspends Russell Brand from making money off the streaming site after sex assault claims

LONDON (AP) — YouTube said Tuesday that Russell Brand will no longer make money from the video streaming site after several women made allegations of sexual assault against the comedian-turned-influencer.

YouTube said monetization of Brand’s account, which has 6.6 million subscribers, has been suspended “following serious allegations against the creator.”

“This decision applies to all channels that may be owned or operated by Russell Brand,” the Google-owned video service said.

Brand, 48, denies allegations of sexual assault made by four women in a Channel 4 television documentary and The Times and Sunday Times newspapers. The accusers, who have not been named, include one who said she was sexually assaulted during a relationship with him when she was 16. Another woman says Brand raped her in Los Angeles in 2012.

The four allegations date from between 2006 and 2013. London’s Metropolitan Police force said that since those claims were made public it had received a report of a separate sexual assault dating from 2003.

Promoters postponed the remaining dates in a string of live gigs by Brand, who denies the allegations.

Known for his unbridled and risqué standup routines, Brand was a major U.K. star in the early 2000s. He hosted shows on radio and television, wrote memoirs charting his battles with drugs and alcohol, appeared in several Hollywood movies and was briefly married to pop star Katy Perry between 2010 and 2012.

In recent years Brand has largely disappeared from mainstream media but has built up a large following online with videos mixing wellness and conspiracy theories. His YouTube channel, which has more than 6 million subscribers, has featured COVID-19 conspiracy theories, vaccine misinformation and interviews with controversial broadcasters including Tucker Carlson and Joe Rogan.

He also has continued to tour as a comedian, performing to hundreds of people in a London venue on Saturday. He had been due to perform Tuesday in Windsor, west of London, but promoters said the rest of the tour was being postponed.