Russell Brand: Baptism is ‘opportunity to leave the past behind’ amid sexual assault allegations
British comedian Russell Brand, facing allegations of rape and sexual assault from multiple women, doubled down on his commitment to Christianity over the weekend.
The actor, known for his work in R-rated comedies including “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and “Get Him to the Greek,” revealed he was baptized Sunday in the River Thames. In an Instagram video shared Monday, the 48-year-old actor said he found the plunge to be “an incredible, profound experience.”
Brand — sitting cross-legged on the floor wearing a white T-shirt, brown pants and several necklaces, including one with a crucifix — said his history of drug use had left his desires for “tranquility, and peace, and even transcendence” unfulfilled. Hours after his baptism on Sunday, Brand said he already felt “changed, transitioned.”
In a joint investigation published Saturday by the Times of London and Channel 4, multiple women accused Brand of rape, sexual assault and other abusive behavior at the height of his fame.
“I’m learning and I will make mistakes, but this is my path now,” he added. “I already feel incredibly blessed, relieved, nourished, held.”
Brand, who pivoted away from acting and refashioned himself as an anti-establishment commentator, shared news of his baptism months after numerous women alleged they were sexually assaulted by him between 2006 and 2013. The accusations first surfaced in a joint investigation published in September by the Times of London and U.K. Channel 4’s “Dispatches” news program.
Brand denied the allegations a day before their publication, saying in a YouTube video, “The relationships I had were absolutely, always consensual.”
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He added: “I was always transparent about that then. Almost too transparent, and I’m being transparent now. To see that transparency metastasized into something criminal that I absolutely deny makes me question: Is there another agenda at play?”
In November, the BBC reported it had received five complaints about the actor, who was a BBC radio host from 2006 to 2008. A month later, Brand was interviewed “under caution by detectives in relation to a further six, non-recent, sexual offenses,” the Associated Press reported.
Before Sunday, Brand shared an Instagram video on Friday detailing his decision to be baptized. He said he learned it was “an opportunity to die and be reborn.”
“An opportunity to leave the past behind and be reborn in Christ’s name,” he added. “Then you can live as an enlightened and awakened person.”
Times staff writer Meredith Blake contributed to this report.
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