Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, disabled some of Russell Brand’s social media accounts on Wednesday, days after a London court sentenced him to over 10 years in prison for rape and sexual assault.
Brand had over six million followers on Facebook and nearly five million on Instagram, where the former comedy and acting star posted clips of videos from his conspiracy-minded YouTube channel.
A Meta spokesman said in an email that the company disabled Brand’s accounts because its policies do not allow accounts “owned by a convicted sex offender, convicted of offenses related to the sexual abuse of children or adults,” or accounts run on that person’s behalf.
Brand’s team announced the ban on his X account in a post that read: “There never was a Russell Brand, according to @Meta. Thank God for @elonmusk. Stay tuned.” Brand has over 10 million followers on X, whose owner, Elon Musk, is a prominent supporter of Brand.
Since Brand’s conviction on Nov. 5, Musk has questioned the former star’s conviction and sentence. On Wednesday, the tycoon responded to an X user’s post highlighting that Brand’s prison term was longer than one for a man in England who was convicted of raping a child. “Something is deeply wrong with the British justice system,” Musk wrote.
Some other U.S. tech platforms that Brand used to reach his audience and generate income have retained his output. Brand’s archive of over 6,000 videos on YouTube is still available to watch, and a YouTube spokesman declined to comment on whether Brand’s conviction would affect the status of his account. Brand’s videos are also still available on Rumble, the video-sharing platform popular with content producers who find themselves restricted on other social media sites.
In 2023, YouTube barred Brand from making money from his videos after three British news outlets published an investigation in which several women accused him of sexual assault, including one accusation of rape.
Brand’s lawyer did not respond to a request for comment about who was posting to the imprisoned star’s X account. In Britain, inmates are not allowed to use social media.
Brand’s X account also reposted a comment on Wednesday from Mike Benz, a speechwriter in President Trump’s first administration, arguing that Brand was “the victim of a political hit job” and urging the U.S. government to class him “a political prisoner.”
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