Jo Whiley has revealed that a message left by Russell Brand in her show book makes her shudder, following the comedian's conviction for rape and sexual assault. Speaking on the Dig It podcast with Zoe Ball, Whiley said the guilty verdict and the 10-and-a-half-year prison sentence "felt seismic."
Whiley recalls Brand's signed message
Whiley explained that she keeps a show book in which guests sign their names when they appear on her programme. Brand's signature, she said, includes a reference to her as a "MILF," a word she now finds unsettling.
"I feel like I keep looking at the bookshelf. It's like it's burning a hole in my bookshelf at the moment," she said. "I'm sitting in the living room like those words are there. I'm going to have to tear the page out and burn it. I really am, because it just makes me shudder, but that was what you expected, I think, when you met him."
Fans respond to Whiley's admission
Listeners shared their own reactions to Brand's conviction in response to Whiley's comments. One fan wrote: "Felt the enormity of it all week too. Unsettling memories of the horrible lad culture I grew up in. Let's hope this is the beginning of a safer future for women & girls."
Another added: "It is for every woman…it's been a heavy week for us all…when will we ever see an end to it!" A third remarked: "It's been a heavy week for us women, hasn't it? But I feel like we are at last being heard."
Brand's conviction and prison sentence
Whiley's comments came days after Brand, 51, was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court to more than a decade in prison for one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault. He is currently being held at HMP Wandsworth, and his wife, Laura Gallacher, reportedly visited him on Wednesday, two days after the sentencing.
In a further development, Brand is facing fresh allegations of sexual misconduct from six more women, uncovered in an investigation by The Times and The Sunday Times.
