Russell Brand's former flatmate has revealed what he described as a chilling "strategy" the comedian used to "control the narrative" years before his conviction for rape and sexual assault. Mark Pinheiro, who lived with Brand in London before the comedian achieved Hollywood fame, said he believed Brand's jokes about sex and women were part of that strategy.
Speaking on Good Morning Britain after giving evidence during Brand's trial, which saw him convicted of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault, Pinheiro said he thought the jokes Brand made about women and sex were part of his approach.
Jokes as part of a strategy
Pinheiro said: "I believe on his part that he knew that he could control the narrative, whether that was by writing books or turning things into a joke when there's something nefarious going on behind the scenes. I think that was all cleverly constructed once he had the fame to control the narrative a bit more. It was a strategy."
Pinheiro, who met Brand in 1998 when they were both up-and-coming actors, added that Brand would introduce himself with his desire to sleep with 5,000 women, making it difficult to know if this was the real him or an act.
Difficult to distinguish act from reality
Pinheiro said: "When he introduced himself, he endeared himself with that information. That's how he sold who he was. He wanted to play up to that and to prove himself as often as he could. It was a very strange admission to make."
He added: "It was very difficult to distinguish if he was putting on an act or if this was some kind of mental health disorder, like the early stages of sex addiction."
Others turned a blind eye
Pinheiro explained that many people around Brand would not challenge his behaviour. "When you're with someone like Russell, a lot of guys could fall in," he said. "They don't want to be estranged from the group. It does take a certain level of strength. Even when we used to see Russell misbehaving, people around us would turn a blind eye, because they didn't want to have to bear witness or say they saw him do what he did."
He said his own perspective differed because he joined the group later. "But because I was late to the party, I hadn't learned those strategies so I would notice things and say 'did you see that?' and others would be like 'No, I don't know what you're talking about'."
