Russell Brand has admitted it was ‘not the morally sound thing to do’ to sleep with a 16-year-old girl, as he told Piers Morgan he may end up in prison.
The former Hollywood star said he thinks about jail ‘every day’ and would face it ‘with God’ if convicted of sexual offence charges.
Speaking on the Piers Morgan Uncensored YouTube channel, Brand insisted he is ‘not afraid of the truth’ and would accept prison if that is the outcome, while continuing to deny wrongdoing.
He also addressed his past admission that he had slept with a 16-year-old when he was 30, a relationship unconnected to the current court proceedings, saying in retrospect: ‘No, I should not have been doing that.’
On the details of the story, highlighted in a recent documentary and not part of the legal case, it was reported the pair had dated for three months and the actor would send cars to her school to pick her up.
Brand went on to say the context of his past actions was important, explaining many single, famous men have behaved in a similar way.
He added: ‘It’s not very easy to live a moral life in a culture that really openly rewarded it. Were you still at The Sun when I was being Shagger of the Year? I was literally being given awards for it.’
Joking about The Sun’s ‘Shagger of the Year’ title three times, he said: ‘Some of the glory’s faded, amidst the rape allegations, the Shagger of the Year titles do not seem quite as valuable, I’ll have to confess. Some of the shine’s come off.’
Russell Brand has admitted it was ‘not the morally sound thing to do’ to sleep with a 16-year-old girl, as he told Piers Morgan he may end up in prison
The former Hollywood star said he thinks about jail ‘every day’ and would face it ‘with God’ if found guilty of serious sexual charges
Speaking on the Piers Morgan Uncensored YouTube channel, Brand insisted he is ‘not afraid of the truth’ and would accept prison if that is the outcome, while continuing to deny wrongdoing
Asked about if he thought about the reality of going to prison, Brand said: ‘Yes… all the time, every day.’
‘I will be with God wherever I am. And of course, I would prefer to be with God with my wife and my kids… I’m not saying that that’s not a difficult image… of course it is.’
Brand, who had his Bible with him, added: ‘We are going to find out the truth, and we’re going to deal with the truth… if the truth is I am going to prison, then I am.’
The comedian said he now believes ‘the only safe place to have sex is within marriage’ and agreed with backlash in the US following a recent interview where he discussed the relationship.
Pressed on whether the encounter amounted to exploitation, Brand said the key issue was consent, noting the age of consent varies across jurisdictions.
‘In the place where I was… that was a legal thing to be doing, but not a morally sound thing to be doing,’ he said.
The interview also saw clashes between the pair, including over Covid vaccines, with Brand refusing to say whether his children are vaccinated, and over claims he has been targeted by a so called ‘deep state’.
The TV host also commented that Brand seemed ‘hyper sensitive’ over being challenged and asked if he was a ‘massive grifter’, who spouts views he didn’t believe in.
At one point, the star even tried to grab Piers’ notes.
Brand spoke about how his views have shifted and the importance of his Christian faith, even reading from the Bible during the exchange.
He also reflected on his past behaviour at the height of his fame, saying a culture that ‘openly rewarded’ promiscuity made it harder to live a moral life, joking that his ‘Shagger of the Year’ titles now ‘do not seem quite as valuable’ amid the allegations.
