On Brands and allies

Monsters walk among us. But so do those who can slay them…

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No-one had been expecting things to go dark. Well, not that dark, at least.

By 2019, Daniel Sloss hadn’t quite broken up, by his own count, a quarter of a million couples. But the success of his relationship-railing breakthrough hit, Jigsaw was quickly gaining him a reputation as a comic confident in the liminal space between funny and unnerving. A certain black humour, then, was to be expected. But rape? At a comedy show?

I remember, distinctly, the moment the mood turned. Glenrothes’ 616-seater Rothes Hall was a far smaller venue than Sloss was used to even then, but this was a homecoming gig for a local boy turned good, a chance to test out some new material in front of a friendly crowd.

As it turned out, the work he was perfecting was X – a show in which he delved, with permission, into the emotional aftermath of his friend’s rape, and which he later began streaming for free to reach the widest possible audience of men.

Four years ago then, Daniel Sloss was already showing the sort of allyship that this week saw him step up as the only comedian willing to go on camera and allege what many others on the circuit had long been saying behind closed doors – that Russell Brand is a sexual predator. That it has long been an open secret. And that he has never stopped working despite it.

I should say now, upfront, that Russell Brand has vehemently denied all allegations of rape, sexual assault and abuse outlined this weekend by Dispatches and The Times. On Saturday, prior to publication, he sought to get out in front of the claims on his own YouTube channel, acknowledging the accusations to come, but putting them down to a mainstream media conspiracy and his self-professed sexual profligacy.