Bluebird, an imprint of U.K. book giant Pan Macmillan, has said it will pause all future publishing with Russell Brand in light of the allegations that have emerged against the comedian, TV host and actor.
In a joint investigation by The Times, The Sunday Times and Channel 4 Dispatches, four women have come forward with allegations of rape, sexual assault and emotional abuse against Brand between 2006 and 2013, all of which he has denied.
“These are very serious allegations and in the light of them, Bluebird has taken the decision to pause all future publishing with Russell Brand,” Bluebird said in a statement reported by publishing trade magazine The Bookseller.
Brand has published titles with Bluebird since 2017, including Recovery: Freedom from our Addictions and Mentors: How to Help and Be Helped. Recovery: The Workbook was due to be published this December. Previously, he published My Booky Wook, his bestselling autobiography, with Hodder & Stoughton in 2007, and Revolution, about politics, with Random House (Century in the U.K.) in 2014.
Alongside Bluebird, the Curtis Brown-owned literary and talent agency Tavistock Wood has said it has “terminated all professional ties” to Brand. According to The Times, one of the accusers approached Brand’s agent at Tavistock Wood in 2020 with her allegations, receiving only a “very aggressive” letter from Brand’s lawyers in response. After being contacted by the Times as part of its investigation with the same allegations, Tavistock Wood cut its linked to Brand.
“Russell Brand categorically and vehemently denied the allegation made in 2020, but we now believe we were horribly misled by him. TW has terminated all professional ties to Brand,” it said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the U.K.’s women’s charity Trevi — which helps women affected by violence and abuse — has ended its association with Brand. It announced in 2022 that it would be working with him and his Stay Free Foundationt.
