Russell Brand has released a video following the rape allegations made against him in the Dispatches documentary.
Here's what he has to say:
In his lengthy statement, Brand suggests there have been dark forces at play, which have attempted to steer a particular narrative against him.
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"Hello there, you awakening wonders," he said. "Obviously, it's been an extraordinary and distressing week. And I thank you very much for your support and for questioning the information that you've been presented with.
"By now, you're probably aware that the British government have asked big tech platforms to censor our online content. And the some online platforms have complied with that request. Well, you may not know is that this happens in the context of the online safety bill, which is a piece of UK legislation that grants sweeping surveillance and censorship powers, and it's a law that has already been passed."
Brand went on to talk about the 'trusted news initiative', claiming that his listeners should never trust any official body when it has the word 'trust' in its acronym.
He stated that channels like the BBC, CNN and others work together in 'constructing narratives, whether that's around the war or the pandemic'.
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"The trusted news Initiative is a collaboration between big tech and legacy media organisations to target, control, choke and shut down independent media organisations like this one," he says. "We'll be talking about that on our show on Monday on Rumble."
Going on to advertise his upcoming show, Brand said he will continue to speak truth to power.
"And it's very clear to me that we have to be very, very cautious indeed," he told his followers.
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"That's why I'm asking you to follow me on Rumble. Rumble have made a clear commitment to free speech, and Rumble is the primary platform that we will be streaming from. We'll be back this Monday. And as usual, we'll be talking about Deep State and corporate collusion, and how ordinary democracy is anathema now, how it shut down, ignored and avoided."
This comes after Brand was accused of sexual assault and rape by a number of women in Channel 4's Dispatches documentary last weekend.
Four women made allegations against Brand pertaining to a period between 2006 and 2013, while he was employed by the BBC, Channel 4 and acting in Hollywood films.
One of the alleged victims was just 16 years old at the time.
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The Times claimed the investigation has taken years, and that in that process it has seen emails, text messages, and medical and therapy notes, as well as studying Brand’s work and his statements about his past through his books.
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence, contact The Survivor’s Trust for free on 08088 010 818, or through their website thesurvivorstrust.org
Topics: Crime, Russell Brand, UK News