The BBC has apologized to the staff as part of an overview of the led by Russell brand during its time at the broadcaster.
The internal assessment was ordered after a joint investigation by Time” Sunday Times and channel 4 Shipments In September 2023, four women had accused him of sexual attacks between 2006 and 2013.
The actor and comedian, 49, denies the accusations and said earlier that all his sexual relationships were “absolutely always consensual”. He told former Fox News -Gastheer Tucker Carlson in a YouTube interview that the claims were “very, very painful”.
Published on Thursday, the BBC research has now established that a number of people 'were unable to worry about the presenter and believed that the brand “Russell brand would always get its way and that is why they were silent.”
Brand, 48, worked for the BBC between 2006 and 2008, when he organized a show on Radio 2 alongside Jonathan Ross until both presenters were suspended over the Andrew Sachs Voicemail Row. The comedian then resigned, while Ross later returned to presenting BBC TV and radio programs.
The actor and comedian said earlier that all his sexual relationships were “absolutely always consensual” (PA Media)
The complaints from the BBC Peter Johnston said he had investigated eight complaints about the brand. Only two were raised while the comedian worked at the BBC, with only one of those formally submitted.
Johnston said that he and his team approached 72 people and interviewed 39 as part of their assessment, and “talked directly with all those who have expressed concern” about the behavior of the brand.
He said: “I am grateful for those who have come forward to talk to me and my team and I apologized on behalf of the BBC to those who are most directly affected by what I have documented here.
“The culture of that time has undoubtedly influenced what was acceptable/tolerated, but I have discovered that a number of individuals were worried about the behavior of Russell Brand that they could not raise at the time.
“Many interviewees believed, rightly or wrongly, that Russell Brand would always get his way and that is why they were silent (and I note that my findings above the only complaint that was submitted in 2007 was not effectively dealt with when it was made) .
“The processes for expressing any worries were also not as developed as it is now. In the intervening years, the BBC introduced other mechanisms and routes for staff to express their concerns. “
Russell Brand worked for the BBC (James Manning/PA) between 2006 and 2008
In response to the report – which cost more than £ 662,000, including almost £ 600,000 for legal costs – the BBC said: “The assessment considered eight complaints of misconduct about the Russell brand, of which only two were made while he was engaged by The BBC, formal and an informal.
“It is a great concern that at the time some of these people were unable to concern the behavior of Russell Brand, and the BBC has apologized as part of this assessment.
“It is also clear that there was compliance with some of the Radio 2 shows of Russell Brand who led to the broadcast of content that would not be broadcast today.”
It added: “There is an ongoing police investigation into the Russell brand. The BBC had contact with the Metropolitan Police during the assessment and they have seen the report. The BBC acknowledges that Russell Brand categorically denies all public allegations against him. “
Public prosecutors have not yet decided to submit charges.
The only formal complaint that was investigated in the BBC assessment was made by a BBC employee in 2007 after the brand erased twice in a cup and bottle while he recorded his Radio 2 show.
The report notes that the BBC seemed to be making in a press response at that time The independentin which a spokesperson said that someone has shown him [Brand] Where the toilet is ”. The report says: “Unfortunately, this incident was not taken seriously at the moment.”
As part of the internal review, the BBC also spoke with a woman who claimed that Brand had followed her in a bathroom in the Los Angeles office of the BBC in 2008 and had exposed his penis before he joked about the incident on the Air minutes later.
An informal complaint was submitted in 2008, followed by a formal complaint in 2019.
The assessment showed that the woman – which was referred by the pseudonym 'Olivia' – had decided not to continue the matter in 2008 because she thought she would not be believed.
Mr Johnston wrote: “However, it has been told that the incident was fairly well known in the BBC of the BBC at that time and in the following years. I have heard that it was often 'joke', which is unacceptable for something so serious. “
The formal complaint was submitted in 2019 after a BBC news employee who worked in LA heard about the alleged incident of colleagues and asked Olivia if she wanted to take the case further, after which managers were informed.
But Mr Johnston's assessment found that both the compliance process prior to the broadcast of the pre-recorded radio episode of 2008 and the handling of the BBC of the 2019 complaint were unstoppable.
The report noted that a few people who had spoken with whom were most involved in the radio programs of the brand, described him “or got out of hand, but said they witnessed nothing non-consensual or potentially illegal , nor did they submit complaints about this at the time. “
One person told the BBC that they had a sexual meeting with a brand in a disabled toilet during a visit to the BBC after winning a competition on Radio 6. They told the research that although the meeting had been consensual, they thought that Brand “His position had abused and benefit from them”.
