Russell Brand’s Next UK Live Show In Question Following Allegations, Book Deal Paused

Max Goldbart
·3 min read
1
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

Russell Brand’s next UK live show is in question, with the UK’s Theatre Royal Windsor preparing to update this afternoon, as Brand’s book deal is put on ice by his publisher.

Tomorrow, the theater is set to host the latest in Brand’s “Bipolarisation” tour but talks are understood to have been taking place this morning over whether it can go ahead. According to ITV News UK Editor Paul Brand, the theater is “considering cancelling the gig in light of the weekend’s accusations,” with managers meeting early in the morning and an update coming later today.

More from Deadline

On Saturday, the day that allegations of rape and sexual assault against Brand were published by The Times and Channel 4, Brand took to the stage at Wembley Troubadour Theatre to a standing ovation, performing to around 2,000 people. He was reported to have told the Wembley crowd: “I love you. I love you. Thank you. There’s some things I cannot talk about and hopefully, you appreciate that I’m gonna give you everything I’ve got.”

Brand vehemently denies any criminality and says all relationships were consensual. In a video that pre-empted their publication, he said they were part of a co-ordinated campaign by the “mainstream media” to silence him.

An update from the Theatre Royal is expected later, coming as the world of entertainment reacts. Brand’s publisher, Bluebird, told The Bookseller it has “paused all future publishing” due to the “serious allegations.”

The deal had seen Brand publish 2018’s Recovery: Freedom from our Addictions and the follow-up was due later this year, titled Recovery: The Workbook. He has published several other books with different publishers.

In other developments in the fast-moving story, Deadline revealed earlier today that Brand was dropped from his latest major TV job in the UK, on Comedy Central’s Roast Battle, after being accused of being a “sexual predator.”

Elsewhere, Channel 4 joined with the BBC and Big Brother producer Banijay in launching an internal probe into the allegations. Brand presented numerous shows on Channel 4 in the 2000s. One of which, Big Brother’s Big Mouth, is where a number of the incidents are alleged to have taken place.

Channel 4 has also removed episodes of Big Brother’s Big Mouth and The Great British Bake Off that featured Brand from its VoD service.

The UK TV sector’s soon-to-launch independent body CIISA, which will oversee bullying complaints, issued a statement saying the situation “further underlines the need for this critical intervention.”

“The establishment of an independent body for the creative industries, CIISA, is now in advanced discussions with the creative sectors in the UK,” it added.

“The creative industries is one of the only sectors that does not have an independent place to confidentially raise concerns about behaviour. The news this weekend further underlines the need for this critical intervention.”

Best of Deadline

Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.