Vanessa Feltz opened up for the first time about how she was ‘deeply offended’ by comedian Russell Brand when he joked on air about sleeping with her daughters.
Russell, 48, is currently facing allegations of sexual assaults and abusive and predatory behaviour between 2006 and 2013, when he was at the height of his fame, following the film. Allegations which he denies.
Speaking on her TalkTV drivetime show this afternoon, Vanessa said: ‘If this is ok with you, I wouldn’t mind sharing with you a personal reflection on this story?
‘I met Russell Brand when I was a guest on EForum and Big Brother’s Big Mouth – so our career paths crossed quite naturally over the years and on other occasions I met him as a friend, I met him on his shows and one of those occasions was in 2006 when I appeared on his chat show, 1 Leicester Square.’
She then played a clip of the show, in which Brand asks her: ‘Can I have it off with either you or your daughters?’
Claims: Vanessa Feltz opened up for the first time about how she was ‘deeply offended’ by comedian Russell Brand when he joked on air about sleeping with her daughters
Allegations: Russell, 48, is currently facing allegations of sexual assaults and abusive and predatory behaviour between 2006 and 2013, when he was at the height of his fame, following the film. Allegations which he denies
To which she quickly replies: ‘No, you may not! No…’
The conversation continues: ‘Or here’s a whacky suggestion…’ with Vanessa cutting in: ‘Or three at once, no!’
‘Damn she’s always one step ahead. Vanessa Feltz, come on, some of them are adults,’ Brand jokes.
‘I’ve got two daughters and no, the answer is no,’ with Russell asking: None of them?’
Vanessa says: ‘Neither. Will you stop it! No you can’t.’
‘Selfish,’ he adds.
Vanessa says: ‘When you have your own daughters you will know why I said that.’
‘Well, I won’t sleep with them… ,’ he adds, adopting a silly voice.
Vanessa replies: ‘God, yuck.’
In the studio today, she added: ‘Yuck, precisely, that’s what I thought then and that’s what I think now.’
She continued: ‘It’s terribly awkward when you are a guest on somebody else’s show, particularly in a theatre, which is full of great fans of the presenter… I was in this unbelievably awkward position where you don’t quite know what to do.
‘Are you meant to think it’s funny and play along? Are you meant to stand up and walk out in high dudgeon and look as if you are a spoil-sport and a party-pooper? What are you supposed to do?
‘I know, I was deeply offended then, as I remain deeply offended now at the idea of him saying, ‘I want to have sex with you and both your daughters’. I think one of my daughters was 15 years old at the time and the answer was as you saw me say there, was emphatically, ‘No!’
Speaking on her TalkTV drivetime show this afternoon, Vanessa said: ‘I know, I was deeply offended then, as I remain deeply offended now at the idea of him saying, ‘I want to have sex with you and both your daughters’ (pictured with daughters Allegra and Saskia in 2011)
She also went on to say that she had witnessed Brand on many occasions in a work environment, explaining: ‘I was literally there and I used to be there quite a lot because I used to be on Big Brother’s Big Mouth, EForum a lot. I mean not every week, but maybe every other week, frequently. I saw Russell in full flood and full flow.
‘Actually admired him enormously, his phraseology, his passion, the kind of drama of it all. He seemed to bring a tremendous dollop of charisma to the programme, such as I hadn’t seen in any other presenter.
‘He really was quite remarkable. So I was there, if he was in ‘plain sight’, I was looking at him. But I knew he was having sex with many women, but I just thought they were all willing.’
She added TV executives may also have been in the dark when it came to the star’s behaviour. Brand has strenuously denied all the claims, following the reports at the weekend.
Russell’s representative’s have been contacted by MailOnline for comment.
The comedian is in the face of a slew of historic allegations of sexual assault.
The allegations sprung from the a joint investigation between The Sunday Times and Channel 4 ‘s Dispatches, which revealed a litany of accusations against the comedian turned wellness influencer.
He was then dropped by a charity working to end violence against women in light of the accusations published by the two media outlets.
In the wake of the accusations, the Metropolitan Police has said it will speak to the media outlets to probe Brand’s alleged treatment of women, but added that at this time the force has ‘not received any reports in relation’ to the allegations of sexual assault detailed in the article or documentary film.
The BBC and Channel 4, both of which Brand formerly worked for, have launched probes into his behaviour following the allegations .
In a new statement, a BBC spokesman said today: ‘The documentary and associated reports contained serious allegations, spanning a number of years. Russell Brand worked on BBC radio programmes between 2006 and 2008 and we are urgently looking into the issues raised.’
Denial: Brand has lashed out at ‘aggressive’ media claims as he insisted any relationships he had ‘during his time of promiscuity’ were ‘consensual’ in a 2min 45sec monologue
Hurt: He was then dropped by a charity working to end violence against women in light of the accusations published by the two media outlets
Channel 4 has also said it is conducting its own internal investigation following allegations about Brand.
The statement added: ‘We will be writing to all our current suppliers reminding them of their responsibilities under our Code of Conduct, as we are committed to ensuring our industry has safe, inclusive and professional working environments.’
Two of the women in Channel 4’s Dispatches which aired on Saturday night said they felt production companies had ‘enabled’ Brand’s behaviour.
Meanwhile, Brand has received support from controversial public figures , with the likes of Elon Musk , Andrew Tate and Laurence Fox all appearing to back the comedian as he claimed to be the victim of a ‘coordinated media attack’.
Billionaire tech mogul Musk, self-proclaimed misogynist Tate and actor-turned-political activist Fox threw their weight behind Brand, while fellow comedians such as Jo Caulfield, Sofie Hagen and Daniel Sloss appeared to turn their backs on him.
There is nothing to suggest Russell Brand was abusive toward Lauren Harries.
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