YouTube has stopped comedian Russell Brand from earning money from his videos because of allegations of rape and sexual assault against him.
YouTube took this step because they believe Brand violated their Creator Responsibility policy, which outlines how creators should behave on and off the platform.
“If a creator’s off-platform behavior harms our users, employees, or ecosystem, we take action to protect the community,” the statement said
YouTube, which is owned by Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL), added that it had taken the action “following serious allegations” made against the comedian over the weekend.
The allegations came to light after a joint investigation by British media outlets The Sunday Times, The Times, and Channel 4.
Four women accused Brand of sexually assaulting them between 2006 and 2013.
One of the women claimed she was 16 years old and Brand was 31 at the time of the alleged assault in London.
Brand had previously denied these allegations in a video on his Instagram page.
He called the accusations “astonishing” and “serious,” but he firmly rejected them.
In recent years, Brand has been active on his YouTube channel, which has faced criticism for promoting conspiracy theories, including some related to the coronavirus pandemic.
YouTube also made it clear that creators cannot use new or alternative channels to try and avoid their enforcement decisions and make money on the platform.
Marketing and branding expert Allyson Stewart-Allen praised YouTube’s decision, saying it was important for the platform to distance itself from Brand given the serious allegations against him.
The Metropolitan Police in London is now investigating one of the allegations of sexual assault against Brand, dating back to 2003.
This investigation started after the joint media report was published.
The BBC, where Brand worked on radio programs from 2006 to 2008, has also stated that they are looking into the issues raised in the Channel 4 documentary about Brand’s alleged misconduct.
