This is the moment Peter Hitchens delivered a withering takedown of Russell Brand on live television after the comedian said he intended to kiss the Our News Outlet columnist on the lips.
The pair clashed during a 2012 BBC Newsnight debate about drugs. Brand, a former heroin addict, accused Mr Hitchens of homophobia during the heated exchange.
As Brand appeared to be losing the argument, he labelled Mr Hitchens “prejudiced” before oddly describing him as a “lovely man”.
Brand, who has since been convicted of rape, said: “I have learned to love you, Peter, and in a minute I’m going to give you such a kiss on the lips that I’m going to challenge a few other of your prejudices.
“Let’s get into the homophobia just under the surface there… Peter, I think you’re a lovely man.”
Mr Hitchens responded with a blistering criticism, saying Brand was “not capable” of serious debate and questioning why he was allowed to make programmes for the taxpayer-funded BBC.
The Our News Outlet columnist calmly asked: “How does one deal with a person who cannot debate seriously?
“And why is this person brought before select committees and allowed to make programmes on the BBC?”
Russell Brand said he would kiss Peter Hitchens on the lips during a 2012 BBC Newsnight clash, before Mr Hitchens delivered a searing takedown and said the convicted rapist was “not capable” of serious debate
Brand, visibly embarrassed, attempted to claim the final word but could not talk over Mr Hitchens.
The clip has resurfaced after Brand was convicted of rape following a trial at Southwark Crown Court this week.
A jury found the comedian guilty of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault.
Brand was acquitted of two further counts of rape and one count of attempted indecent assault.
Mr Hitchens has since received widespread praise for confronting the sexual predator during the live television debate.
One X user wrote: “When Hitchens is right, he’s really right.”
Another said: “You can tell a lot from how Brand tries to frame potentially objecting to the aggressive invasion of personal space as homophobia.”
A third commenter wrote: “The moment where Hitchens refuses to giggle along on the telly box and simply lays bare his sheer contempt is heroic.”
Mr Hitchens has been widely praised online for his takedown of the sexual predator during the 2012 Newsnight confrontation
“You can tell Brand wasn’t used to being stood up to like that, hence his petty nastiness,” another user added.
A fourth wrote: “Peter Hitchens totally called it, saying arguing with him [Brand] was like playing chess with a squirrel.
“Brand even tried to scrub the footage because he looked so bad.”
A fifth commenter said: “Remembering how thoroughly obnoxious Russell Brand was has made my day even better. Peter Hitchens got this right.”
Following a joint investigation by The Times and Channel 4 that first brought allegations against Brand to light, Mr Hitchens wrote for this newspaper that attempting to have a serious argument with the comedian was “like playing chess with a squirrel”.
The columnist wrote: “I’ll never forget the night Russell Brand offered to kiss me. He had been busy losing an argument about drugs on the BBC Newsnight programme back in 2012.
“I already knew him from an earlier encounter. During our first meeting, at a London debate on drugs chaired by Emily Maitlis, I teased him about his silly hat and referred to him as an ‘alleged comedian’ — I think the jury is still out on that.
“I thought that someone who enjoyed mocking others, such as poor Andrew Sachs, might not be accustomed to having the treatment returned.
Russell Brand outside Southwark Crown Court in London, where he faced three charges of rape, indecent assault and three counts of sexual assault relating to six women
Brand is pictured in May 2008 at a photocall for the second Spike TV Annual Guys Choice Awards in Los Angeles
“I tried to get him to explain whether he accepted responsibility for his own drug-taking. Instead, I was met with a verbal explosion about how I was bigoted, how The Mail on Sunday was bigoted, how I ‘peddled hatred’ and lacked love for other human beings.
“Then came the familiar accusation of racial prejudice. The audience at the debate loved it, and the encounter ended with the unmistakable sound of North London liberals baying for more.”
“Now here we were again, debating drugs and the law, this time under the chairmanship of the BBC’s Stephanie Flanders. It did not matter that he was losing the argument: Mr Brand had been invited to make a series of programmes on the subject, while I had not.
“I was the one who had written and published a critical history of British drug laws since the 1960s, while he had written a volume called My Booky Wook. He was also the one who knew how to rip his shirt — or, on this occasion, I think, his jeans.
“Not long before that, Mr Brand had been invited to give evidence — cowboy hat, ripped shirt and all — to the House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee.”
Mr Hitchens went on to describe Brand as “not stupid”, but said he was “ill-informed and very bad at arguing”.
READ MORE: PETER HITCHENS: Trying to have a serious argument with Russell Brand is like playing chess with a squirrel. Why was he given a place in the national debate?
