When Russell Brand Made ‘The View’ Co-Host Joy Behar Uncomfortable During a Live Show
Recent serious sexual misconduct charges against British comedian Russell Brand have caused several of his older talk show video recordings to become viral for their vulgar and derogatory remarks. Back in 2009, Brand appeared on the popular political and daily topic talk show, The View.
The Bedtime Stories actor had joked that the panelists, who included Whoopi Goldberg, Barbara Walters, and Meghan McCain, made him feel 'aroused' during the very suggestive conversation, which took place more than 14 years ago. He had made co-host Joy Behar uncomfortable during the explicit section with his comment: "Now listen, you’ll have me stripped of my title and I'll have you stripped of your tights!" As he said this, the crowd in the studio laughed.
It was no secret that the Death on the Nile actor was a sex addict, and he had admitted the fact in his autobiography, My Booky Wook. As per The Independent, Brand had stated that his decision to get help for his sex addiction stemmed from the fact that 'my sexual behavior might become damaging to my career.'
He then stated that John Noel, his manager, had checked him into the KeyStone Center Extended Care Unit “using a combination of threats, bullying, love and blackmail to make me go”. Brand further stated, “So anyway, I didn’t want to go to that sexual treatment center, but all the do-gooders – and I mean that literally, as they did generally do good (I’ve never really understood why people employ that term pejoratively) – they all insisted, and I sort of, kind of agreed."
“Just to shut everyone up, really, and for the same reason that I finally gave up drink and drugs – because my ambition is the most powerful force within me, so once people convinced me that my sexual behavior might become damaging to my career," Brand continued. "I found it easier to think of it as a flaw that needed to be remedied," the Forgetting Sarah Marshall actor had written about his rehab stint to cure his addiction.
More women have reportedly contacted The Sunday Times about the former BBC presenter's sexual behavior 'since the early 2000s.' “The new allegations, which have not been investigated and will now be rigorously checked, come after four women, including one who was 16, alleged that they were sexually assaulted by Brand during the height of his fame between 2006 and 2013,” the leading publication reported.
Meanwhile, as per the Press Gazette, the Sunday Times media editor Rosamund Urwin, who initially broke the story, stated that the media coverage around the allegations is 'upsetting' and that certain details were not being handled properly. She said, “I really think we should be aware as an industry that there are duties that we are bound by. We have a regulator for a reason. Reporting around sexual offenses has to be incredibly carefully and delicately done..."
