LONDON: YouTube has suspended monetization on Russell Brand’s channel after the comedian was accused of rape and sexual assault but has no plans to ban him.
“If a creator’s off-platform behavior harms our users, employees or ecosystem, we take action,” a YouTube spokesperson told UK media outlets. The company added that Brand had violated YouTube’s “Creator Responsibility policy.”
In a conversation with British media outlet Channel 4 boss Alex, YouTube executive Pedro Pina said Russell Brand should not be able to “make a living” through the platform but stopped short of saying that Brand should be banned.
“Essentially he is not able to make a living through YouTube,” said Pina. “We don’t believe that should happen.” “We don’t tolerate harmful content,” Pina said. “Right now, from our point of view, we don’t have harmful content by Russell Brand.”
He added that there had been an “incident in the past” where Brand was accused of spreading “medical misinformation” and YouTube took action in that situation. “If we find out over the next days, weeks, there is more reason to take more action, we will see,” said Pina.
Mahon asked whether removing Brand’s ability to monetize his channel would also impact his reach but Pina said YouTube’s algorithm did not prioritize channels with advertising.
READ MORE: UK comedian Russell Brand accused of sexual assault
On Friday, Brand attempted to get ahead of the allegations by posting a statement to his YouTube denying the claims made in the investigation. The video has racked up almost two million views in four days.
The move comes as four women variously accused Brand of rape, sexual assault and emotional abuse between 2006 and 2013 as part of a joint investigation by four British media outlets.
Brand’s YouTube channel has 6.6 million subscribers. The British comedian and actor has in recent years focused his efforts on becoming a social media personality and wellness guru, using his various platforms to dabble in everything from conspiracy theories, anti-vax propaganda, veganism and politics.
In September 2022, he pledged to move over to rival video platform Rumble, after YouTube gave Brand a warning for posting misinformation about COVID-19.
In the wake of the allegations, Brand’s live stand-up shows in the UK have been postponed. The comedian’s publisher Bluebird, an imprint of UK book giant Pan Macmillan, has said it will pause all future publishing with Brand.
