**WARNING: This article contains details of sexual assault and rape.**
YouTube has suspend monetisation on Russell Brand's channel for violating platforms terms of service.
Brand's YouTube channel currently boasts over 6.6 million subscribers but it has since been demonetised due to the allegations made against the comedian.
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The 48-year-old has been accused of rape by four women following a report published over the weekend (16 September), featuring a joint investigation by Channel 4 show Dispatches and The Times.
In a statement sent to LADbible (19 September), YouTube said: "We have suspended monetisation on Russell Brand’s channel for violating our Creator Responsibility policy.
"If a creator’s off-platform behaviour harms our users, employees or ecosystem, we take action to protect the community."
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They added that Brand's YouTube channel is 'no longer able to monetise on YouTube' and that this decision will apply to ' all channels that may be owned or operated by Russell Brand'.
"Our Creator Responsibility Guidelines are clear that if a creator’s off-platform behaviour harms our users, employees, or ecosystem, we may take action to protect our community, including by suspending monetisation." the spokesperson said.
They continued to say that 'while these behaviours are rare', they can cause 'widespread harm to the YouTube community, and potentially damage the trust among creators, users, and advertisers'.
Adding that when a creator is suspended from the YouTube Partner Program, they are prohibited from creating an alternative to 'circumvent our enforcement decision'.
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Chief executive of the social media analysis agency CORQ, Sara McCorquodale, told The Guardian on Monday (18 September) that Brand's YouTube channel would 'most likely' be 'making £2,000 to £4,000 per video, not taking into account any affiliate deals and brand sponsorships that might be running in the background'.
The four women have made allegations against Brand pertaining to a period between 2006 and 2013, whilst he was employed by the BBC, Channel 4, and acting in Hollywood films.
One woman was treated at a rape crisis centre the same day, according to medical records.
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She later sent him a text explaining that she felt she had been taken advantage of, adding: "When a girl say[s] NO it means no," to which Brand allegedly replied and said he was 'very sorry'.
A second woman claimed Brand assaulted her when she was 16 and still at school and he allegedly referred to her as 'the child' during a relationship that lasted for about three months.
She claimed that he 'forced his penis down her throat', making her choke.
After she tried to push him off, she alleges she had to punch him in the stomach to make him stop.
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A third woman alleged that she was sexually assaulted by Brand while working with him in Los Angeles and claimed she was threatened by him if she took legal action or told anyone about her allegations.
A fourth woman also alleges she was sexually assaulted by Brand and that he was physically and emotionally abusive towards her.
The women have chosen to remain anonymous.
Brand has vehemently denied the allegations and said his relationships have been consensual.
For information or support, contact thesurvivorstrust.org
Topics: Russell Brand, Celebrity, YouTube, Crime, Money, UK News
Rhiannon Ingle