An influential health think tank linked to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. received a bizarre endorsement from Hollywood star Russell Brand, who addressed its online forum while naked in a bathtub.
Brand—who is facing a trial after pleading not guilty to five counts of rape, sexual assault, and indecent exposure—dialled in to the MAHA Action media hub Zoom meet from his bathroom to deliver a rambling monologue about media coverage of U.S. healthcare.
During the internet get-together, where speakers “broke down the fight against corruption, toxic food, overmedication, and media smears,” the actor and comic cryptically compared conspiracies about the COVID-19 pandemic to the allegations he is facing.
“I’m a person that’s been, personally, subject to simultaneously dropped stories and character attacks and what seemed like an alliance between various media groups and online entities,” he said in the video MAHA Action posted online Wednesday. “Weird, weird stuff.”
MAHA Action—an advocacy group whose name takes inspiration from Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” initiative—is closely tied to the health secretary.
It is widely viewed as an extension of Kennedy’s agenda as Health and Human Services secretary. One of its key advisers, Dr. Aseem Malhotra, insists, despite the scientific consensus, that the vaccines are more dangerous than the virus.
Brand also promoted other debunked conspiracies about COVID-19.
“Even I had forgotten that during the pandemic, they built internment camps in Australia and Canada, then denied it, and then tried to claim it never happened.”
Brand seemed to acknowledge that addressing the forum from the bathtub could be viewed as a breach of decorum.
“Whilst I recognize somberness and seriousness and propriety have their place, that place isn’t on a Zoom call,” he said. “It’s just a Zoom call.”
After MAHA Action posted the video on X, Brand’s cameo drew backlash from users who took the organization to task for platforming an accused rapist.
Brand was charged in April with rape, indecent assault, oral rape, and two counts of sexual assault involving four women between 1999 and 2005. He has denied wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty in May. A judge set his trial for June 2026 in London.
“Russell Brand, former actor, former comedian, currently awaiting trial for rape, indecent assault, oral rape, and two further counts of sexual assault,” one user wrote. “He has no medical qualifications.”
One wrote, “I’m sorry, but Russell Brand? Seriously? Another said, “He’s truly one of the most despicable con men of our age. Is this good medicine?”
The MAGA Action appearance isn’t Brand’s first brush with the RFK orbit. TMZ reported in June 2024 that Kennedy’s campaign had paid Brand’s production company $68,417.96 for a Nashville “Night of Comedy” appearance last year, covering travel and production costs, according to filings.
The Daily Beast has contacted MAHA Action, HHS, and Brand’s team for comment.
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