Oct 18, 2026 · 2h 16m
Russell Brand faces trial as faith and public scrutiny collide
A Second Look: Russell Brand on Faith, Fame, and Allegations Against Him
The interview revisits Brand’s responses to serious allegations while examining how faith, celebrity, media power, and political conviction shape his defense.
- 1Brand discusses the allegations, documentary, and pending UK criminal case while acknowledging legal and personal consequences.
- 2His account connects childhood trauma, addiction, sexual compulsion, recovery, Christian faith, and attempts at personal transformation.
- 3Kelly and Brand debate whether independent media and political decentralization can challenge institutions they view as increasingly centralized.
Don't miss
Brand reflects on the possibility of imprisonment, saying he would accept whatever happens as part of God’s plan while the case remains unresolved.
The brief
Megyn Kelly reopens an April 2026 conversation with Russell Brand as his UK criminal trial begins, placing an intimate archive interview against an unresolved legal backdrop.
Brand responds to allegations and a documentary’s dramatized presentation while discussing consent, power, deplatforming, accountability, and the limits imposed by an ongoing case.
The interview traces Brand’s childhood, addiction, compulsive sex, recovery, marriage, and Christian faith, presenting spiritual transformation alongside regret over past behavior.
Kelly and Brand widen the frame to independent media, COVID-era authority, algorithmic fear, Trump, and decentralizing political power, with both questioning entrenched institutions.
The standout tension arrives when Brand considers possible imprisonment and says he would accept the outcome as part of God’s plan, even as trial uncertainty remains.
The conversation closes by linking suffering, faith, and redemption, without resolving the allegations or the larger dispute over accountability and institutional power.
What was said on this episode
56 statements · 13 positive · 36 negative · 3 mixed · 4 neutral
Brand says he had consensual sex with a 16-year-old at age 30.
“the age of consent is 16. And I did sleep with, a 16 year old when i was 30”
Listen at 9:21
Brand says sex amid a strong fame-based power differential is exploitative.
“when there is a strong power differential as there is when you're a famous man that has the ability to attract women that i had at that time i think involves exploitation i think it is exploitative”
Listen at 9:39
Brand assesses his past sexual conduct as selfish.
“my sexual conduct in the past was selfish”
Listen at 9:53
Brand says fame and addiction enabled exploitative sexual hedonism.
“what fame gave me, and what addiction fuelled, was opportunity for endless consent, which led me to be a hedonist and a fool and an exploiter of women.”
Listen at 11:39
Brand denies that the allegations involve criminal non-consensual sex.
“What I'm obviously not only querying, but violently or aggressively or assertively opposing is the idea that this is a judicial criminal matter where consent was overridden.”
Listen at 11:58
Brand predicts the Iran war would have continued under Harris.
“One thing I pretty strongly believe is if Kamala Harris had been elected, you would still have this war with Iran in more or less the same way.”
Listen at 15:06
Brand says long-term American planning included wars with several countries.
“the project of the next American century included. We're going to have wars with Iran. We're going to have wars with Lebanon, Iraq, North Korea, Afghanistan.”
Listen at 15:39
Brand says Moderna and Pfizer worked to reduce anti-vaccine voices' reach.
“companies like Moderna and Pfizer spent a good deal of money observing and doing their best to de-amplify what they called anti-vax voices.”
Listen at 17:15
Brand says YouTube demonetized him after calls from Caroline Dinenage.
“Caroline Dynage, whose works for the government, was ready to say, X should demonetize Russell Brand, Rumble should demonetize him, YouTube. And YouTube, of course, did.”
Listen at 17:41
Brand characterizes the 77th Brigade as a psychological-operations organization.
“the 77th Brigade are a psyops organization”
Listen at 18:15
Brand says promiscuous sex is morally wrong.
“It's not right to sleep around with lots of people.”
Listen at 20:50
Brand says he became dependent on heroin around age 22 or 23.
“i was dependent on it by the time i was i reckon 22 23”
Listen at 24:33
Brand says Drama Centre expelled him after excessive drug use.
“I went there and they loved me. They adored me. Then I went crazy. I took too many drugs. They threw me out.”
Listen at 25:44
Brand says stopping drugs radically improved his life.
“as long as I stopped taking drugs, my life improved radically in a number of ways.”
Listen at 26:57
Brand says he had sexual contact with thousands of women.
“We're talking four figures”
Listen at 29:57
Brand says promiscuous sexual behavior creates suffering.
“What you are creating for yourself and for other people is suffering.”
Listen at 33:34
Brand assesses Bill Maher as living through self-perpetuated adolescence.
“What Bill Maher, with all due respect to him, there is missing and living through is a self-perpetuated adolescence.”
Listen at 37:46
Brand says Bill Maher lacks the ability to love.
“what Bill Maher... What I would pray for Bill Maher is the ability for him to love.”
Listen at 38:38
Brand says he would not seek sexual partners lacking experience.
“it would be oh no man”
Listen at 41:22
Brand denies manipulating or bypassing sexual consent.
“i've never done anything where i've i've manipulated consent”
Listen at 44:22
Brand says a 30-year-old should not have sex with women barely above consent age.
“Me, as a 30-year-old, I had no business having consensual sex with women that were just past girls, that were just over the age of consent.”
Listen at 46:09
Brand says he would still hold the alleged victim in high regard.
“I would greet her as a person that I held in very high regard.”
Listen at 47:05
Brand says his sexual behavior was consensual but immoral.
“my behavior, which my position was consensual and therefore non-criminal, is definitely immoral.”
Listen at 54:24
Brand acknowledges that women felt hurt by encounters with him.
“people obviously, plainly, as we just saw there, albeit played by an actor, felt hurt by an encounter by me.”
Listen at 56:04
Brand says some MeToo allegations appeared to reframe consensual activity.
“some people, it seemed, were facing allegations that maybe it looked like consensual activity reframed.”
Listen at 58:58
Brand says powerful institutions decide outcomes before selecting means.
“the way that power operates these days is to first decide an outcome. This is the outcome we want. How do we get to that outcome?”
Listen at 1:00:43
Brand says the current agenda seeks social unrest and cultural confusion.
“I think that the agenda right now is to create a great deal of social unrest and cultural confusion.”
Listen at 1:01:45
Brand says the pandemic provided an opportunity to test social control.
“I think the pandemic, whether deliberately or not, was a... opportunity to pilot levels of control.”
Listen at 1:02:16
Brand predicts attempts to suppress meaningful dissenting voices.
“I would be very surprised if we didn't see in the coming years attempt to shut down. Anybody who has a meaningful dissenting voice”
Listen at 1:02:37
Brand says facial-recognition cameras will be deployed across the UK.
“they're now going to have facial recognition technology cameras all across the UK.”
Listen at 1:05:31
Brand says authorities are attempting to mandate digital identification.
“there's an attempt to get digital id mandated”
Listen at 1:05:42
Brand predicts centralized power will replace unity with totalitarian surveillance.
“The enemy the empire deal only in counterfeits. Instead of unity, they will have totalitarianism. Instead of intercommunication, they will have mass surveillance.”
Listen at 1:06:01
Brand says information decentralization has diminished traditional media brokers.
“The power of the brokers has been diminished. That's the real trend that's significant. The information has been decentralized.”
Listen at 1:10:48
Brand says political systems have chosen greater centralization and authoritarianism.
“It's pretty clear that they've taken the latter path.”
Listen at 1:11:14
Brand says AI and the internet are creating a counterfeit consciousness.
“Over time and right now, AI and the internet are creating something that's akin to a counterfeit consciousness.”
Listen at 1:17:57
Brand says authorities use protection claims to pursue control.
“Whenever they come to you saying that they want to protect you. They actually want to control you.”
Listen at 1:20:35
Kelly alleges Miriam Adelson's $250 million bought Trump's Iran-Israel policy.
“The Miriam Maddelson $250 million bought him on Iran and Israel.”
Listen at 1:23:22
Kelly says Netanyahu manipulated Trump.
“He was manipulated by Netanyahu.”
Listen at 1:23:31
Kelly says Trump used Iran's nuclear threat to start Netanyahu's desired war.
“He used that excuse that he had always said they can't have a nuclear bomb to do what Netanyahu wanted him to do and what Netanyahu convinced Trump to do, which was to start a war with them.”
Listen at 1:33:39
Kelly says Netanyahu manipulated Trump into starting the Iran war.
“Netanyahu playing him like a fiddle.”
Listen at 1:34:19
Kelly says Trump fulfilled most cited promises except deportations.
“he's lived up to those promises, except for the deportations.”
Listen at 1:39:46
Kelly assesses Trump's Epstein, Iran, and economic records as disastrous.
“But, you know, this other stuff, Epstein, Iran, the economy have been pretty disastrous.”
Listen at 1:39:56
Kelly recommends choosing the lesser evil in two-party elections.
“you have to choose the lesser of two evils.”
Listen at 1:42:05
Kelly says Trump performed well on border and transgender issues.
“Trump did a good job on those.”
Listen at 1:43:50
Kelly attributes hospitals stopping transgender procedures to Trump.
“All these hospitals are stopping the procedures. That's thanks to Trump.”
Listen at 1:44:11
Brand recommends radical decentralization of political power.
“What if the, can we not... generate new battles by proposing radical systemic change and the radical decentralization of political power.”
Listen at 1:44:40
Brand says digital-ID technology enabled rapid vaccination of most people globally.
“Why are people not acknowledging that if the technology exists for all of us to carry digital ID, essentially 70% of the global population to get vaccinated overnight from either a made up or potentially not as threatening as it was presented disease.”
Listen at 1:45:00
Brand recommends allowing communities to govern locally by their chosen principles.
“if there is a community that wants to be run in accordance with Sharia law within some state somewhere, then allow them to democratically do it.”
Listen at 1:45:46
Brand says decentralization and democracy should be governing principles.
“the principle ought be decentralization and democracy.”
Listen at 1:48:36
Kelly recommends returning to a much smaller federal executive.
“I'd love to get back to where we have a very, very, very tiny disempowered executive who really can't do much.”
Listen at 1:49:33
Brand recommends dissolving centralized power and enabling local communities.
“why not have dissolve dissolve power wherever possible wherever possible allow people to run their own communities locally grow food locally.”
Listen at 1:51:07
Brand says seven symbolizes completeness in his book title.
“seven, it's the number that means completeness, become complete.”
Listen at 1:55:48
Brand expresses sympathy regarding allegations involving Katy Perry.
“I must say I feel a good deal of sympathy with the recent allegations around Katie from 2010.”
Listen at 2:03:34
Brand says convicted rapists should receive lengthy imprisonment.
“if you are convicted of being a rapist, you go to jail for a very long time, which, if you are a rapist, I think is only right. And only fair.”
Listen at 2:07:45
Brand says he owes amends to women for past conduct.
“I owe an amends to women for sure in a sort of general way and in a specific way.”
Listen at 2:10:29
Brand evaluates Julian Assange and Edward Snowden as genuine heroes.
“he's a real hero. He's a genuine hero. So is Edward Snowden.”
Listen at 2:12:23
Statements are attributed to the speaker as said on the episode and reflect their view at the time, not PodLume's. They are not advice.
Books & mentions
Some links are affiliate links — PodLume may earn a commission if you buy.
Weekly email
State of the Pod, every Monday
The week's most-discussed names and stories from podcasts, with the moments behind them. Free, five minutes, unsubscribe in one click.