Vanessa Feltz has said she was so “horrified and disgusted” when Russell Brand asked her on live television whether he could have sex with her and her two teenage daughters that she ended their friendship that night.
In a now-infamous clip from 2006, Brand — who is facing a lengthy prison sentence after being found guilty of rape — repeatedly asked Ms Feltz whether he could “have it off” with her daughters. The younger of the two was just 15 at the time.
The television presenter had appeared on Brand’s MTV chat show, 1 Leicester Square, in 2006.
Recalling the exchange on her LBC radio programme, Ms Feltz said she “stopped being friendly with him that night”.
She said: “I wasn’t able to laugh it off. I didn’t want to laugh it off, and I didn’t think it was funny at all.
“I was horrified — absolutely disgusted, in fact. Even with a baying audience roaring in the bear pit, I couldn’t pretend to think what he had said was funny.
Vanessa Feltz said she was so “horrified” when Russell Brand asked her live on air whether he could have sex with her and her two teenage daughters that she ended their friendship
In a now-infamous clip from 2006, Brand — who is facing a lengthy prison sentence after being found guilty of rape — repeatedly asked Ms Feltz whether he could “have it off” with her daughters
“It didn’t feel like a joke, and I stopped being friendly with him that night.”
During the interview, Brand suddenly asked Ms Feltz: “Can I have it off with either you or your daughters?”
Ms Feltz grimaced at the presenter’s crude question and replied: “No, you may not.”
Brand continued: “Come on, some of them are adults.”
Clearly more offended, Ms Feltz adopted a serious tone and told him: “I’ve got two daughters. The answer is no.”
Brand persisted, asking: “None of them?”
“Neither,” Ms Feltz replied, adding: “Will you stop it?”
Brand then said: “Hold on, you’ve got two whole daughters and I can’t even have one. Selfish.”
Ms Feltz became still more serious, telling him: “When you have your own daughters, you’ll know why I said that.”
The television presenter appeared on Brand’s MTV chat show, 1 Leicester Square, in 2006
Brand then blurted out: “Well, I won’t sleep with them.”
Clearly uncomfortable, Ms Feltz responded: “I’m not sure about that,” in a frustrated retort.
Brand added: “I’m only mucking about. I’m not actually going to sleep with my own kids. It’s only a joke. It’s only words.”
Hi, I’m Alex Matthews, Editor of The Crime Desk.
Russell Brand has been found guilty of rape and three sexual assaults. Our reporters Caroline Cheetham and Liz Hull were in court every day to cover the case. They also spoke with Detective Inspector Laura Nelson, who explained why the women who accused Brand in the infamous documentary were not involved in his rape trial.
Subscribe to The Crime Desk to listen to the podcast.
During her LBC programme, Ms Feltz also revisited the time she said she was assaulted by another convicted sex offender, Rolf Harris, while they were in the bed on Channel Four’s The Big Breakfast.
She said: “His wife was about two feet away. He was adored by the nation and, for all I knew, loved by the Royal Family. I was the first woman he had ever treated that way.
“There was no chance on earth that I would have dreamt of making a complaint or making any sort of fuss about it.
“I stayed completely silent. I told my then husband and a couple of friends, but other than that I never said a word about it.”
Explaining why rape victims can be reluctant to report attacks when the alleged perpetrator is a celebrity, Ms Feltz said: “I understand why reporting a sexual assault or rape is traumatic, nerve-wracking and even terrifying.
“The thought of facing an inquisition from your attacker’s legal team — suggesting you are a liar, that you consented, that you are promiscuous, sex-obsessed or have a history of debauchery — would be enough to deter most women.”
Her comments came after she discussed the encounter on Good Morning Britain following Brand’s conviction.
Ms Feltz said: “I was quite friendly with him. I found him hugely entertaining. I was mesmerised by the stream of words and his charisma. I had never seen a presenter anything like him.
“He simply announced, in this unbelievably dispassionate way, that he wanted to have sex with me and both my daughters. The younger one was 15 at the time.
“I couldn’t pretend I thought that was funny. It didn’t seem to be a joke.
“I realised then that there was something extremely chilling about him — something ruthless, frightening and intimidating.
“What he really relished was having power over women. He wanted to have sex with women who didn’t want to have sex with him, rather than with the many who did.”
