Russell Brand is reportedly earning up to £20,000 a week despite his sex scandal derailing his acting, stand-up and content creation careers.
Russell Brand is reportedly earning up to £20,000 a week despite his sex scandal derailing his acting, stand-up and content creation careers
The 48-year-old comedian was dealt a huge blow when a string of sexual misconduct claims against him were revealed by the Times newspaper and Channel 4, with five women accusing him of offences from rape and sexual assault to emotional abuse.
He was interviewed by Metropolitan police over “further” historic sex offences a month after he was quizzed over the initial allegations and Russell – who strongly denies the allegations made against him – saw the revenue stream for his massively profitable YouTube channel axed by the platform, and he was forced to cancel a string of comedy gigs.
But The Sun on Sunday has reported Russell’s online Rumble channel – watched on average by around 250,000 viewers – is now his main revenue stream.
The publication said top Rumble creators earn £16 per 1,000 viewers, and Russell is making £4,000 a show, produced five days a week – earning him up to £20,000 a week.
The content is mainly conspiracy-led debate mixed with monologues from Russell and appearances from controversial guests such as the disgraced 49-year-old InfoWars host Alex Jones – who faces bankruptcy after being sued for £1.2 billion by the families of Sandy Hook victims for claiming the 2012 shooting, which saw 20 children and six adults killed, was a hoax.
The Sun on Sunday added Russell’s main TV production company, Pablo Diablo’s Legitimate Business Firm Ltd, currently in £4,070,420 profit.
Tanith Carey, Russell’s first biographer, told The Sun on Sunday: “Brand knows his new audience. His videos around the pandemic and vaccines are particularly popular.
“He now has 1.79 million followers on Rumble, almost double what he had on the platform in March last year – and he can get at least 750,000 views on his most popular clips.”
She added about Russell’s future career: “Brand may no longer be welcome on primetime TV, but even before his mainstream career was torn apart by the allegations of rape and sexual assault, last September, he was concentrating on getting a cult following on alternative social media channels where he had more control.
“Brand now has a solid and devoted social media following, many of whom aren’t bothered at all by the sexual allegations – and who see them as part of the establishment’s conspiracy to silence him.
“Brand’s income may have taken a hit but he still has enough of an online community to keep the money coming in.
“He is finding re-branding himself as a serious revolutionary and a spiritual guru can also be lucrative.”
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