Russell Brand unintentionally sparked a "Willy Wonka themed riot" when he handed out candy in a poor "shanty town" in India.
Russell Brand
The 41-year-old comedian - who has three-month-old daughter Mabel with his girlfriend Laura Gallacher - has urged his fans to carry out charity work but only in "allegiance and alliance with" established organisations as he learned that things can quickly go wrong when he tried to treat some impoverished kids during a visit to the South Asian country.
Speaking on a YouTube video as part of his 'Trews' series, Russell said: "Right near you there are people who require help, but try not to do it on your own.
"I made this terrible mistake once when I was in India, here is that mistake. I bought loads of sweets and gave them to children in some kind of shanty town poor place, and it was the wrong way of doing things. I see that now, because it created what can only be described as a sort of Willy Wonka themed riot.
"What I should've done is spoken to charitable organisations that distribute food but that wouldn't have fulfilled me in my whimsical, narcissistic, 'Let's go and give out candy in the shanty town,' Christ complex. But I've learned that it's better to help in allegiance and alliance with others in a structured way and I suggest you do that too."
But Russell doesn't believe that his experience should deter people from being charitable, as he urged his fans to "commit" to helping others.
Whilst a quote from German writer Goethe that read "Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now" appeared on screen, Russell added: "Pursue it, and the pathway will appear. There's a very good Goethe quote for this that has to do with commitment. Commit to it."
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