BBC Accused of Ignoring Claims Russell Brand Exposed Himself to a Woman

The BBC has been accused of failing to act on claims that Russell Brand exposed himself to a woman at the corporation’s Los Angeles office, despite the comedian appearing to joke about the incident on air.

Brand, 51, is alleged to have followed the woman, referred to by the pseudonym “Olivia”, into a toilet and exposed his penis in June 2008.

He later made jokes about the episode while recording The Russell Brand Show for BBC Radio 2.

The BBC did not investigate the allegation at the time, even though Brand’s co-host, Matt Morgan, said during the broadcast that the comedian had “showed his willy to a lady” 25 minutes earlier.

The corporation also left Morgan’s comment in the programme, despite the show having been recorded in advance.

Brand is due to be sentenced tomorrow after being convicted of raping one woman and sexually assaulting three others between approximately 2004 and 2009, offences prosecutors said were driven by his “voracious” and violent sexual appetite.

The victims told Southwark Crown Court that Brand forced them into sexual activity, in some cases within seconds of meeting them, while using his celebrity status in pursuit of a stated ambition to sleep with 5,000 women.

His wife, Laura Gallacher, who supported him throughout the four-week trial, cried and put her head in her hands as the four guilty verdicts were delivered on Thursday. Brand was acquitted of three other charges.

Russell Brand pictured at the Annual Guys Choice Awards in Los Angeles in May 2008

Olivia was not employed by the BBC but worked for another company in the same building. She said she did not feel able to report the alleged incident in 2008 because she feared what might happen if she did.

She told The Times: “I’d like to think my employer would have backed me, but I was worried that if I had gone up against him and lost, I would have been responsible for any costs.

“It was a very different time and culture. There were also elements of embarrassment that this creep did this to me. It was shame.”

The incident was discussed among employees at the BBC’s Los Angeles office. The corporation admitted last year that it had “often been joked about”.

In 2019, Olivia spoke to a BBC News employee, who she said encouraged her to report what had happened.

After the matter was escalated within the BBC, Olivia was told that Brand would not be permitted to return to the Los Angeles bureau. The restriction did not extend to BBC offices in other countries.

In 2025, the BBC published a report by Peter Johnston, its director of editorial complaints and reviews, examining Brand’s conduct during his time at the corporation.

Johnston said no staff members had raised concerns in 2008 because “the nature of the content on Russell Brand’s show was such that material of this nature was common and often invented, so it is likely the team involved in the (pre-recorded) show did not realise this related to a real situation”.

Brand, 51, pictured outside Southwark Crown Court on Thursday with his wife Laura Gallacher

Johnston apologised to Olivia last year.

There was also no record that her complaint had been passed on to senior figures at Radio 2.

The BBC said in a statement on Sunday: “Firstly, the thoughts of everyone at the BBC are with the brave women who came forward and told their stories, leading to a conviction in this case.

“There can be no place for the abuse of power. Across the industry, we must work together to ensure that anyone who suffers at someone else’s hands feels able to report it, that their concerns are taken seriously and that they are heard.

“We published a detailed report in January 2025 examining how complaints about Russell Brand’s conduct were handled. It considered eight allegations of misconduct during his time at the BBC between 2006 and 2008.

“It was of great concern to us that some people felt unable to raise concerns about Brand’s behaviour. We apologised to those affected for both the culture and the failings at the time, and we repeat that apology today.”

Brand closed his eyes on Thursday as he was convicted of raping a 21-year-old fan whom he had selected from the crowd after one of his performances at the Hammersmith Apollo in 2009.

Brand, who was 33 at the time, forced the woman’s face into a pillow on his “enormous” bed and removed his condom while raping her at his £2.3 million home in Hampstead, leaving her struggling to breathe.

She suffered anal bleeding and later said Brand told her to “clean up the mess you’ve made” before turning on the television to watch the science-fiction series Quantum Leap.

The woman attempted to clean herself up before a member of staff escorted her out. A driver gave her tissues while taking her home. Fearing she might have contracted HIV, she underwent medical tests, which were negative.

It was also revealed on Thursday that Brand has been accused of raping two further women, one of whom was a 16-year-old schoolgirl, as the Crown Prosecution Service seeks to bring additional charges.