Russell Brand Open Secret Hits Netflix a Week After Rape Conviction
Netflix has released the documentary Russell Brand: Open Secret a week after the former comedian was convicted of rape and sexual assault in a U.K. court. Old roommates, ex-partners and fellow comedians describe his rise, his behavior and his turn to political commentary.
Netflix has released the documentary "Russell Brand: Open Secret" just a week after the former actor and comedian was convicted of rape and sexual assault in a U.K. court. The film, made by 72 Films, traces his rise to fame and his pivot to political influencer while rumors about his behavior grew.
It draws on old roommates, ex-partners and fellow comedians. It also includes rare archive footage of his earliest gigs.
What the film shows
In one early set, Brand performed with a sack over his head. In another, he offered audience members pornography. The documentary says he repeatedly joked about lewd behavior and once said on stage: "I raped someone once."
Around 1999, before his media career took off, Brand worked at a language school in London. According to the film, he began dating one of his pupils, Amanda Alguero Alejos.
Alejos says Brand was "nice and sweet" at first. As his fame grew, she says, there were "too many girls around him all the time and we couldn't have intimacy together anymore." She alleges he took a lot of drugs, including cocaine and heroin. Brand has publicly said he has been sober since 2002.
Early career and family
The film says MTV sacked Brand in the U.K. after he dressed as Osama Bin Laden the day after 9/11. A former roommate confirms this. Brand then landed a show on a small network, U.K. Play, where he challenged his father, Ronald, to a boxing match.
The roommate says the two had a difficult relationship. "Russell decided to settle this once and for all and thought it was a good idea to put it on camera," he says.
Brand has admitted in books and TV shows that his father took him to Thailand and hired two sex workers, one for each of them. The documentary includes archive footage of the pair discussing it on a TV show.
Accounts from former partners
Jordan Martin, an ex-girlfriend, describes Brand as controlling and abusive and says he repeatedly cheated on her. She alleges he sexually assaulted her after an argument. She also says he made her brush her teeth until she was bleeding.
Last week another ex-girlfriend, Jemima Goldsmith, also accused Brand of "violence and abuse." She said she once had to call police to remove him from her house "during a violent incident."
The film then follows Brand after his divorce from Katy Perry, as rumors about him increased. It says he turned to politics to bolster his fanbase, first embracing the far Left in columns for the New Statesman and the Guardian.
Martin says Brand wanted her to feel like a stranger. "He wanted me to taste anonymous," she says. "He didn't want me to be familiar to him and so he was asking me to brush my teeth but it was just never enough."
