Comedian Josie Long has alleged that Russell Brand physically assaulted her when he bit her face backstage despite her telling him she 'did not like it'.
asserted
she → allege → it
The 44-year-old is among a number of female celebrities who have spoken out against Brand after he was jailed for more than 10 years for rape and three counts of sexual assault.
asserted
he → speak → assault
Long, who has been joined by Katherine Ryan, Lily Allen, Jo Whiley, Vanessa Feltz, Jemima Goldsmith, Lorraine Kelly and Kelly Brook in condemning Brand's predatory behaviour warned other male stars: 'We are coming for you and I hope you never sleep again.'
asserted
you → join → you
It comes as Brand - who is reportedly being assessed for a transfer to the notorious HMP Wakefield dubbed 'Monster Mansion' - has also been accused of sexual misconduct and predatory behaviour by six more women.
uncertain
who → come → women
Long told the Novara Live podcast: 'I actually had an experience with Russell Brand... where backstage he would bite my face and I would tell him I didn't like it and he would chase me around.
asserted
he → tell → me
I would like giggle because I was 22 and it was overwhelming.
asserted
it → giggle → ?
But I remember I had to be very… it took a lot for him to stop.
asserted
him → remember → lot
And it's funny now to reckon with that and to be like, 'Oh, that was a physical assault, wasn't it?'
asserted
it → reckon → that
'I just simply can't tell you how toxic that culture was back then and how some elements of comedy persist to be that toxic and how a lot of those people who were in positions of power then have continued to be in positions of power and got more powerful.
asserted
who → tell → power
'So I am very grateful for the inroads that have been made by everyone else, but it's a lot.'
asserted
it → make → everyone
Stand-up comic Josie Long has condemned the 'toxic' culture within the comedy industry
Russell Brand is pictured in 2006 at the GQ Men of the Year Awards at the Royal Opera House
Speaking after Brand was locked up for ten-and-a-half years, Long added: 'I feel sad sometimes because I was very young and I look back and I feel angry at myself for not thriving on these panel shows, for example, and sometimes it does take things like this to go 'well, how could we possibly have'.
'
uncertain
we → stand → this
I started when I was 17 and for the first ten years of my life all I got was people saying women comedians only talk about women's things and it really made me feel like I couldn't speak to my own experiences.'
asserted
I → start → experiences
Long concluded: 'Let's look forward to the next ten years and also please let me say this very clearly, all other misogynists in comedy, we are coming for you and I hope you never sleep again.'
asserted
you → conclude → you
Long has joined a long list of female celebrities who have spoken out against Brand before and after his convictions.
asserted
who → join → convictions
Comedian Katherine Ryan has spoken of her 'grief and relief' following Brand being locked up.
asserted
Brand → speak → grief
She previously claimed in an interview with Louis Theroux that there was a 'predator' in the showbiz industry.
asserted
She → claim → industry
Ryan said she could not name the celebrity as it would be a 'litigious minefield', but she said she had appeared on a TV programme with him and called him a 'predator' to 'his face'.
uncertain
she → say → face
It is widely believed that Ryan was referring to her time on Comedy Central's Roast Battle in 2018 with Brand.
asserted
Ryan → believe → Brand
But the remarks were cut by producers and never broadcast, and Brand left the show after six episodes.
asserted
Brand → cut → episodes
Comedian Katherine Ryan has spoken of her 'grief and relief' following Brand being locked up
Jo Whiley pictured with Russell Brand in 2013
Jo Whiley has also revealed a message Brand wrote to her calling her a 'MILF', an acronym for 'Mother I'd Like to F***', makes her 'shudder'.
asserted
her → speak → Mother
Speaking on their Dig It podcast on Thursday, Whiley explained: 'I've got a show book that people sign my book when they come on the show and I've got a signature from Russell.
asserted
I → speak → Russell
'It's got the word, he just refers to me as a MILF and I feel like I keep looking at the bookshelf.
asserted
I → get → bookshelf
It's like it's burning a hole in my bookshelf at the moment.
asserted
it → burn → moment
I'm sitting in the living room like those words are there.
asserted
words → sit → room
I'm going to have to tear the page out and burn it.
asserted
I → go → it
I really am because it just makes me shudder but that was what you expected I think when you met him.'
Whiley said she 'cried' alongside her daughter Coco, 18, as she recalled the moment she found out about his verdict.
asserted
she → make → verdict
'It just felt seismic,' she said.
asserted
she → feel → ?
'It felt extraordinarily important and there seems to have been since then this lament from women.
asserted
It → feel → women
I've just seen it over and over again and I cried.
asserted
I → see → it
'It's for every woman who's ever been at the hands of somebody who's abused them whether it's sexual or domestic.'
asserted
it → abuse → them
She added: 'I think for everyone it just felt like this massive empathy amongst women and from men as well.
asserted
it → add → men
I think this kind of understanding of the effect that this kind of behavior has had on generation after generation of women.'
asserted
kind → think → women
TV producer Jemima Goldsmith has also accused her ex-partner Brand of 'violence, coercive control and abuse'.
asserted
Goldsmith → accuse → violence
'I had to call the police to have him removed from my house in 2014 during a violent incident,' she wrote in a post on X.
Goldsmith described how she opted not to press charges at the time due to fears about the impact on her life and the lives of her children, but did not go into detail about what is alleged to have happened.
asserted
what → have → detail
Thames Valley Police has confirmed it attended the scene and 'ensured the victim's partner left the address.
asserted
partner → confirm → address
Lily Allen also spoke out against Brand after a clip of him joking about her being raped resurfaced in 2023.
asserted
her → speak → 2023
The singer reflected on the moment as 'really horrendous' but had stayed silent because of the 'culture' at the time.
asserted
singer → reflect → time
She told Grazia UK that she had been aware of the clip resurfacing 'where I was on a chat show with Brand, Noel Fielding and Jonathan Ross.
asserted
I → tell → Brand
And there are comments, I think, about me being raped or something.'
asserted
me → be → ?
Allen added: 'And I laugh along with it.
asserted
I → add → it
…and 57 more, not listed.
The Aporia
