Tinie Tempah has removed a lyric relating to Russell Brand from one of his hit songs after the comedian was convicted of rape and sexual assault. Brand was sentenced to 10 years and six months in prison after being found guilty of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault involving four women.
Lyric Change at Concert
Tempah - real name Patrick Chukwuemeka Okogwu Jr - switched up the lyric while performing his 2016 song, Girls Like, at a concert on Thursday. He sang: “Said I was the man / All I ever needed was a plan / Tell JK that I’m still rollin’ / Tell Jo, I’m a brand.”
The rapper, 37, had changed the original line, “Tell Russell I’m a brand,” to seemingly reference the comedian Jo Brand instead. Fans praised the move on social media, with one writing, “Mad respect for this,” and another adding: “Yesss. Period.”
Celebrity Reactions
A slew of celebrities have been reacting to Brand’s conviction and jailing over the past few days. Jimmy Carr faced backlash after sharing a stand-up joke about Brand’s imprisonment to promote tickets for his upcoming tour.
The comedian posted the video to his X account on Monday - an hour after Brand was sentenced to prison - to plug dates for his new show, Killing Jokes, which is set to tour across the UK and US in 2027. In the clip, Carr responded to a heckler asking what he thought about Brand.
“What do I think about Russell Brand? Well, this is interesting. It’s crazy to think that Russell Brand is going to jail for something he didn’t do… get consent,” he said. “I think Russell Brand’s views on sex and consent are going to radically change in the next week.”
Conviction and Sentencing
Brand was convicted at Southwark Crown Court. The court heard how one woman was raped by Brand in 2009, when she was 21, at his luxury London home. Other women who worked at Channel 4, MTV and Capital Radio also accused the former television presenter of sexual misconduct.
On Monday, Mr Justice Bennathan criticised Brand’s “staggering arrogance” as he sentenced him to 10-and-a-half years in prison. 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.”
Brand’s barrister launched a foul-mouthed attack on a journalist outside the courtroom after his sentencing. Ian Winter KC turned on Sunday Times journalist Rosamund Urwin, whose investigation helped bring Brand’s victims forward, confronting her with the extraordinary words: “I hope you are pleased with yourself.”
Urwin refused to back down, firing back: “I’m pleased justice has been done,” to which Winter replied: “Well, it wasn’t. You f***** it. Congratulations.” The astonishing exchange came after Brand’s legal team sought to blame media coverage for the case against him, with Winter arguing during the trial that reporting by Urwin and others had “poisoned the well” and made it impossible for his client to receive a fair trial.
But his claims were rejected by trial judge Mr Justice Bennathan, who dismissed Brand’s bid to prevent the trial from going ahead because of negative media coverage.
