Russell Brand has boasted about kissing Meghan Markle ahead of her eventual wedding to Prince Harry – after the pair reportedly met in a Hollywood film set in 2009.
Over the weekend, the comedian was the subject of multiple allegations from women who accused him of abusive and predatory behavior, including rape, sexual assault and emotional abuse, between 2006 and 2013.
Brand “absolutely denies” the allegations and insists all of his relationships were consensual.
In a recreated clip from ITV’s Loose Women in 2018, Brand claimed to have briefly met the future Duchess of Sussex just a week before she was due to marry Prince Harry.
Both appeared in the 2010 film Get Him To The Greek, in which Brand played a sexually promiscuous, drug-addled rock star.
Discussing the alleged encounter on Loose Women in 2018, Brand boasted: “She was in a film I was in, Get Him to the Greek, it was a good film.
“Meghan Markle – she didn’t know at the time because she wasn’t married to a royal man.
“I don’t really remember the movie, I think I put one in her scene.
“It was written in the scene. I only know because I saw a clip of it somewhere. Meghan Markle, here we go.
“They should discuss it (at the wedding)… if anyone has any reason… yeah, Russell Brand hugged her in the movie!”
Some have claimed that a clip from the film shows the moment in question, but it is doubtful whether it actually shows Brando kissing Meghan.
Brand said he had seen a clip of the “memorable” moment online, but it would appear that if it did happen, it would not have made the final cut of the film.
Since Brand was the subject of investigations by The Times, The Sunday Times and Channel 4’s Dispatches, more women have come forward with allegations about how he treated them.
The Times and Sunday Times say “several women” have come forward with undisclosed allegations about Brando’s behavior during the early 2000s as a result of their joint investigation with Channel 4, which was published on Saturday.
The latest allegations – which the paper said had not been investigated but will now be “rigorously scrutinised” – follow accusations from four women, including one who claims she was sexually assaulted by Brand during a three-month relationship with him when she was 16. and still in school.
The BBC is also now facing “urgent questions” after it was claimed Brand, 48, used his company-provided car services to pick the girl up from school.
Both the BBC and Channel 4 have launched internal investigations into separate allegations of predatory behavior by Brand towards staff and viewers during his employment.
Channel 4 has since removed all programs associated with Brand from its website, including episodes of The Great British Bake Off and Big Brother’s Big Mouth in which he was featured, The Daily Telegraph reported.
Netflix has since been prompted to remove his comedy special, titled Re:Birth, from its streaming catalog.
The one-of-a-kind actor and stand-up comedian has vehemently denied any wrongdoing, blaming the “mainstream media” for “a litany of stunning rather baroque attacks”.
BBC bosses last night sought to investigate Brando after the comedian was accused of rape.
Their investigation was announced minutes before Scotland Yard stepped up the pressure, announcing that detectives would like to speak to the comedian’s alleged victims.
Brand, a former BBC and Channel 4 star, is facing bombshell claims from women who allege sexual assault, abuse and predatory behavior – including one who was a 16-year-old schoolgirl.
But claims by one businesswoman – who claimed Brand raped her when she turned down a threesome – and another who said she was 16 when he choked her during a sex act sparked a storm yesterday.
Among the complaints raised as part of the investigation were allegations by a woman, referred to as Alice to protect her identity, who claims she was sexually assaulted by Brand as a 16-year-old.
He claims he was “preoccupied” with her being “innocent and pure” and often called her “Baby”.
Alice described his behavior towards her as “grooming” as Brand allegedly provided her with scripts to trick her parents into allowing her to visit him. She also claimed he would send his “BBC car” to her high school to pick her up.
“The first time I used it, he told me he was booked to take it to his radio show, but a friend took it instead, so I should use the car,” she said. Times.
She claimed that the driver once took her from Brando’s house to her grandmother’s house and that on another occasion the same car “picked me up from school”.
Alice added: “It was the same car… I knew it was a BBC car.”
The BBC initially did not commit to an investigation but changed its stance last night amid growing outrage, with a spokesman saying it was “investigating the issues as a matter of urgency”.
A BBC spokesman said in a statement: “The documentary and related reports contained serious allegations spanning several years.
“Russell Brand worked on BBC radio programs between 2006 and 2008 and we are urgently addressing the issues raised.”
The broadcaster yesterday launched an internal investigation into what was known about Brando’s alleged behavior after it claimed at least one executive knew about complaints about the comedian and appeared to dismiss them.
