Richard Osman has condemned Russell Brand as “talentless” and “a sleaze” after the comedian, 51, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for rape and sexual assault.
Brand was convicted following a four-week trial in which several anonymous women gave testimony about their experiences with the public figure. The entertainment industry has been reckoning with the environment that allowed him to thrive during the two decades in which the crimes took place.
Osman's criticism on podcast
Speaking on The Rest is Entertainment podcast, Osman said: “I’ve never worked with him, never met him; right from the beginning, I thought he was awful.
“I thought he was talentless, all of that, but that’s fine; none of that is illegal. But I’m not interested in working with him. I can’t think of any actual comedy producer who’d be particularly interested in working with him because there’s nothing there.
“The only thing that is there is himself. It’s not someone who can be collegiate. So, I definitely knew that about him,” he said, adding that as Brand got more famous, “you’d certainly hear that he was a sleaze”.
He continued: “Again, not illegal, not nice. Again, not someone you would want to work with, not someone who I can think of anyone I know who particularly want to work with.
“But the guy’s a sleaze and the guy is sex obsessed and the guy runs around with a group of people who have that same aesthetic.”
Industry reactions and related investigation
Brand’s sentence was delivered the same week that The Guardian and ITV published an investigation into David Walliams, whom several women have accused of sexual misconduct and harassment in the workplace.
Jonathan Ross, once close to both men, is among the first high-profile figures to respond. In a statement, he said: “I am as horrified by the revelations about David Walliams and the crimes of Russell Brand as the rest of the nation.
“There was a time in my life when I was on friendly terms with both men, and during that period I was genuinely unaware of their conduct.
“My thoughts are with the many, many women who have bravely come forward.”
Ex-girlfriend's allegations
Following the conviction, Brand’s ex-girlfriend Jemima Goldsmith spoke about her experiences during their relationship in 2014. She accused him of “ violence, coercive control and abuse” and claimed she was driven to phone the police during one “violent” incident.
Goldsmith added that she has “always been strongly and unequivocally on the side of all of Brand’s victims”.
