Russell Brand, who was found guilty of rape on Thursday, November 5, after a four-week trial at Southwark Crown Court, appeared in a 2006 Channel 4 sketch mocking the late Queen Elizabeth that would not air today. The sketch, which aired on his self-titled late-night talk show, featured American singer Courtney Love in an X-rated parody of the monarch.
Conviction and Career Background
Brand, 51, rose to fame in 2000, advancing from stand-up comedian to TV presenter and eventually landing high-profile Hollywood film roles. He was charged with seven initial charges involving six women spanning a ten-year period from 1999 to 2009. He was also found guilty on three counts of sexual assault across his showbiz career.
In 2023, after allegations first surfaced, Brand made several statements maintaining his innocence and claiming he was simply "very, very, very promiscuous" in the past.
The 2006 Sketch with Courtney Love
In December 2006, Brand was joined by Courtney Love for a sketch mocking Queen Elizabeth. With Love dressed as a monarch, she walked him into her "private chamber" and lifted her dress to reveal a thong and suspenders. The singer appeared to straddle Brand before groping him and saying: "You don't need a gun in here."
Brand, pretending to be in pain, winced and replied: "Your Majesty, you're pulling my tinkle." Standing over him with one leg on his chair, Love lifted the front of her dress and tried to push his head to her groin, when Brand's character appeared to begin choking after being poisoned. Confused by his sudden lack of interest, the singer, in a posh voice, said: "I washed me snatch this morning."
Aftermath and Later Controversies
The show earned Brand a Best TV Performer award at the 2006 Broadcasting Press Guild Awards, but many of its explicit sketches would not be aired today. After the show was axed, Brand continued with a weekend radio show on BBC Radio 2.
His time in this role ended in 2008 when Brand and fellow BBC presenter Jonathan Ross called then 78-year-old Andrew Sachs, who starred as Manuel in Fawlty Towers, and left a crude voicemail about having sex with his granddaughter. The BBC received a record-breaking 42,000 public complaints, and Brand resigned, with the broadcaster effectively cancelling the show.
Brand's mockery of the Royal Family continued throughout his career. In his 2014 book Revolution, he referred to Queen Elizabeth II as "Mrs Windsor" in protest, writing: "She's just a person. A little old lady in a shiny hat – that we paid for. We should be calling her Mrs Windsor."
