Sharon Osbourne has insisted Russell Brand must “pay” for his crimes after he was sentenced last week. The former X Factor judge, who has known Brand for 10 years, spoke on The Osbournes podcast with son Jack earlier this week.
“He got his life together. But you know what? You play, you pay,” said Sharon, 74. “Even if it's years ago and you've tidied up your life, you've got your head together. You've got everything going [for you]. The whole thing is ugly. But his wife, his kids...”
Son Jack on the victims
Son Jack added: “And obviously there's the victims. It's horrible that they've had to and what they've had to endure and obviously lived through for decades now.”
Sharon spoke out in 2023 after the Dispatches documentary aired on Channel 4, containing the bombshell allegations at Brand. “Being a woman, when I hear these cases where women have been abused and taken advantage of, I automatically go to the woman's side, because I love women, I care about them,” she said.
Final podcast appearance before jail
Just weeks before he was jailed for rape and sexual assault, Brand and his wife made their final appearance together on their podcast titled Sunday Service with The Brands. During the opening, he said: “We're in the UK, why is that?” before joking he “fancied a trip” and adding “the Lord brought us here”. Ahead of the trial Russell asked for people to “pray for us if you feel so inclined”.
He said: “For me being back here, obviously there are great challenges knowing that however we shake this down, there are people that feel aggrieved and hurt and my prayer is that this will be addressed in the coming weeks. We'll do our best to respect the important restrictions that exist around court cases to ensure that truth and justice can be done.”
Later in the podcast, Laura read a message from a viewer, which said: “I know what it's like to be awaiting possible imprisonment and the huge pressure it places on loved ones too. You WILL get through it; iron sharpens iron. The presence of God is everywhere, including prison.” However, as she spoke, Brand interrupted her, saying, “I don't like things where it's like, you might have to go to prison.”
