Nigel Farage appeared on Russell Brand’s US podcast nine months after the comedian was investigated by police over allegations of sexual assault, the Guardian has learned.
The Reform UK leader has criticised Labour for “cosying up to” and “promoting” Brand a decade ago, after the comedian was sentenced this week to more than ۱۰ years in prison for rape and sexual assault.
It has now emerged that Farage was a guest on Brand’s online show in July ۲۰۲۴ – months after the sexual assault allegations were made public, but before he was charged in April ۲۰۲۵.
During the episode, Farage laughed with Brand about their shared interests in taking on the establishment and suggested the west had provoked Vladimir Putin into the Ukraine war because “what you don’t do with a Russian bear is deliberately poke it with a stick”.
Farage was aware of the serious sexual assault allegations against Brand at the time because he had commented on them on GB News the previous year, but they were not mentioned in the episode.
Sitting on a sofa with Brand alongside Dan Bongino, a Donald Trump supporter, and Charlie Kirk, the rightwing activist later murdered, Farage spoke of how “the old left-right divides” were being blown out of the water. He claimed that cancel culture meant people saying racist or homophobic things were “cancelled” but contempt for the white working class was allowed.
At the end of the show, Brand said: “Nigel, thank you for this impromptu opportunity to speak and I hope we get more chances to speak.”
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An ally of Farage pointed out that the Reform leader and Brand had previously clashed in ۲۰۱۴ on the BBC’s Question Time, with Farage later claiming that an assistant had straightened the comedian’s chest hair for him and “didn’t seem to utter a word of sense”.
A number of women accused Brand of sexual assault in a joint Sunday Times, Times and Channel ۴ exposé in September ۲۰۲۳, and the comedian was subsequently interviewed under caution by police that autumn.
On GB News in September ۲۰۲۳, Farage said he was not a big fan of Brand but would not prejudge him and remarked on the comedian having “upset big government” and powerful men such as Bill Gates, an apparent reference to Brand’s anti-vaccine views.
On the allegations against the host, Farage said there was “no evidence being produced” and then referred to four or five women having come forward.
He added: “I’m not here to prejudge his guilt or his innocence, but there are many other things in his own autobiography that he’s written about his behaviour with women that are disturbing, abusive and not very pretty.”
Asked about his appearance with Brand, a spokesperson for Farage said: “Nigel regrets his appearance on the show. His thoughts are with the victims who have suffered immensely because of what Russell Brand has done.”
Reform sources said it was not a planned appearance, and he was pulled into the room during a visit to the US.
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Since the verdict, Farage has commented on the allegations against Brand on Australia’s News ۲۴, saying: “It’s very difficult isn’t it, because this is two decades old, it’s ‘he said, she said’, although there’s more than one she. So these cases are always very difficult for us to judge at a distance because there is no actual hard evidence.”
However, he came out in support of Jemima Goldsmith, a former partner of Brand, who has accused him of assault. Farage said she was known to him and he believed her account of Brand being violent and abusive, adding: “The judicial system has proved to have actually worked.”
He also criticised Labour for failing to apologise for “cosying up” to Brand a decade ago.
It is not the first time Farage has met a man accused of abusive behaviour. The Reform UK leader was pictured with Andrew Tate, the misogynist influencer, in ۲۰۱۹. Tate was charged with rape and human trafficking in ۲۰۲۳, and the UK is now seeking to extradite him from the US. Tate denies the allegations.
Farage spoke in favour of Tate for defending “male culture” in a Strike It Big podcast which aired in February ۲۰۲۴, while acknowledging that the influencer had gone “over the top” and that he had said some “pretty horrible” things.
Asked about his podcast appearance and comments on Tate, Farage said: “There’s an awakening in a younger generation who have had enough of being dictated to, have had enough of being lectured to. They’re seeing through the rubbish they’re getting taught in schools and universities. If no other politician is willing to reach out to this group of people, then I will.”
