Jimmy Carr has mocked Russell Brand with a dark consent joke days after the disgraced comedian was jailed for 10-and-a-half years for rape and sexual assault. Brand, 51, was sentenced on Monday for raping a woman and sexually assaulting three others, and is now behind bars.
Joke targets Brand's prison time
In a clip shared on X, Carr is seen mid-performance when an audience member asks him: "What do you think of Russell Brand?" Carr replies: "This is interesting. It's crazy to think that Russell Brand is going to jail for something he did not do - get consent." He then quips: "I think Russell Brand's views on sex and consent are going to change in the next week."
Brand was convicted last week of the 2009 rape of a fan and sexual assaults in 2004, 2005, and 2009 against TV and radio workers. The judge, Mr Justice Bennathan, condemned his "staggering arrogance" in carrying out the offences.
Judge's sentencing remarks
The judge told Brand: "About 20 years ago Russell Brand, you were becoming famous, you were clever, and in many people's eyes you were funny and charismatic. You had also become a sexual predator." He said Brand displayed a "casual arrogant disregard to any woman's right to say no to you", while his celebrity status led him to believe "you could act when you liked and how you liked".
The judge handed down a nine-year sentence for the rape, with an additional year and a half for the sexual assaults.
Wider fallout and investigations
The Met Police has confirmed it has active investigations against the Essex-born entertainer. His former girlfriend, Jemima Goldsmith, released a statement after the sentencing in which she said she "had my own personal experience of his violence, coercive control and abuse", requiring her "to call the police to have him removed from my house in 2014 during a violent incident".
Andy Burnham highlighted the courage of the women who came forward to report Brand, stating the government would be "relentless in making whatever improvements we can" to better support victims, including ensuring rape and serious sexual offence teams are present in every police force. Last week, Burnham told Times Radio he would "look closely" at remarks made by Sir Mark Rowley, after the Metropolitan Police Commissioner backed calls to reform legislation to tackle "rape myths". Sir Mark had previously told the BBC that what emerged from Brand's trial came perilously close to "victim blaming". Victims Commissioner Claire Waxman has called for a new legal obligation on judges to direct juries whenever rape myths have been raised during a trial.
