Jo Whiley said she "cried" when Russell Brand was jailed this week, as she recalled a message he wrote to her which makes her "shudder" in light of his convictions.
The disgraced comedian and TV star was jailed for 10-and-a-half years for rape and sexual assault. He was sentenced on Monday (November 9) after a jury found him guilty of raping one woman and sexually assaulting three others following a four-week trial.
Brand, now 51, previously denied wrongdoing and claimed all his relationships were consensual. He was also found not guilty of two counts of rape and one charge of attempted indecent assault.
Jo Whiley's reaction to the verdict
TV and radio presenter Jo has now discussed the verdict on her Dig It podcast with fellow broadcaster Zoe Ball, and they agreed that the outcome of Brand's trial felt "extraordinarily important" for women. "I think it's been extremely profound," the 61-year-old said.
The BBC Radio 2 host recounted sitting with her 18-year-old daughter Coco when the sentencing was announced, and said: "It just felt seismic. It felt extraordinarily important, and there seems to have since been this lament from women."
She also said she "cried" when it was announced Brand was facing more than a decade behind bars, and said: "It's for every woman who's ever been at the hands of somebody who's abused them – whether it's sexual or otherwise. We all have experienced, or know people have experienced, something like this."
Recalling the message from Brand
Jo then recalled a note that Brand had written to her. She said: "I've got a show book – people sign my book when they come on the show. I've got a signature from Russell, and (…) he just refers to me as a 'Milf'. I keep looking at the bookshelf, it's burning a hole in my bookshelf at the moment."
The acronym Milf stands for 'mother I'd like to f***'. Jo continued: "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 when you met him."
Zoe Ball's response
As they discussed Brand's sentence, Zoe, 55, agreed that it was "emotional" and spoke about the impact of his "harrowing" trial. She said: "I think it's been a real collective feeling of horror and upset. Then ultimately, I guess, relief that finally something big has happened that you hope is going to help women."
The former BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show host continued: "The moment where he was convicted last week, in my workplace, everyone was in silence watching the news. It was so emotional."
Brand is expected to serve two-thirds of his sentence before being released on licence, and will be on the sex offenders' register for life.
