Former Royal Ballet principal dancer Sergei Polunin has faced a backlash after declaring his “full support” for Russell Brand, who was jailed for ten-and-a-half years last week after being convicted of rape and three counts of sexual assault.
Polunin, 36, described the comedian as a “national treasure” in a post shared on Instagram, alongside a black-and-white photograph of Brand sitting on a stool.
The dancer said he had previously watched Brand rehearse and perform, and had spoken to him. He described him as “very polite, very clever and so ‘geniusly’ talented”.
Polunin also referred to Brand as a “Loving Husband”, “Super Talent” and “British Treasure”, while criticising friends who had distanced themselves from him as “Rats”.
The post attracted criticism from Polunin’s 194,000 followers, with several saying they intended to unfollow him.
One commenter wrote: “Your vibe attracts your tribe. What an enlightening insight. Unfollow.” Another said: “WTAF – talking about picking the wrong side of history.”
A third added: “Wow. So disappointing. I was mesmerised when I saw Dancer. Can’t be more let down by this post. What are you thinking? You have a daughter, right?”
Sergei Polunin’s controversial career
Polunin joined the Royal Ballet School aged 13 in 2003 and became the youngest male principal dancer to join the Royal Ballet when he was 20.
He left London in 2012 before becoming a principal dancer at the Stanislavsky Music Theatre in Moscow and the Novosibirsk State Academic Opera and Ballet.
The Ukrainian-born dancer became widely known in 2014 after releasing a self-choreographed routine to Hozier’s song Take Me to Church. His life was later documented in the film Dancer, released in 2016.
His career has also been marked by controversy. In 2019, the Paris Ballet Opera withdrew an invitation for him to perform in Swan Lake after he made homophobic and sexist comments on social media.
In a deleted post, Polunin wrote that gay men “need a good slap” and said men were “the leaders of the family”. He also called for overweight people to be slapped, saying it would encourage them to lose weight.
Polunin later became a supporter of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and raised funds for Russian troops. He was granted Russian citizenship and has a tattoo of the Russian president’s face on his chest.
He announced in 2024 that he and his family were leaving Russia after a series of sinister packages were sent to his home. He and his Russian figure skater wife, Elena Ilinykh, welcomed a daughter earlier this year.
Polunin’s comments came as Mia Latter, 37, became the first of Brand’s accusers to waive her anonymity. She said she had been groomed by Brand when she was 16 and he was 30, and accused him of forcing her against a bedhead and orally raping her after they met in 2006.
Ms Latter said she was speaking publicly to campaign for a staggered age of consent that would outlaw relationships between adults and under-18s.
Eight further women came forward on Friday night with allegations of sexual abuse and predatory behaviour. Police are assessing information from more than half a dozen new complainants, while evidence concerning two other women has been submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service.
