A resurfaced television clip shows comedian Sean Lock attacking Russell Brand’s political views and describing his hatred of the convicted sex offender, saying he feared his daughters might one day “bring something like that home”.
Lock made the remarks during an episode of 8 Out of 10 Cats, in a discussion about Brand’s opposition to voting. The clip has attracted renewed attention after Brand was found guilty of raping one woman and sexually assaulting three others.
The comic criticised Brand for appearing to retreat from encouraging people to stay away from polling stations before asking who he was supposed to vote for.
“So if you reduce that to what he is actually saying, he is saying what everybody says on every bus stop on news days,” Lock said. “Huh politicians. What are they like hey? How did that lot get in bloody hell.”
Mel C, who was also taking part in the discussion, defended Brand’s political position and questioned how change could happen “unless we come together and stop moaning at bus stops?”
Lock responded that people “get the politicians they deserve” because they did not engage with politics or take an interest in the political process.
He then launched into a furious attack, describing Brand’s message to politically disengaged people as “the most moronic, self-serving, pathetic bit of attention seeking” he had ever heard.
When David O’Doherty suggested that Brand’s views deserved some leeway because the political landscape was “rubbish”, Lock explained why he found the comedian particularly objectionable.
“Probably the reason I hate him so much is that I am a dad, and I have this fear that one day my daughters will bring something like that home,” he said.
Viewers reacting to the clip online said Lock had “saw through Brand straight away”.
Russell Brand convicted of rape and sexual assaults
Brand, 51, was convicted at Southwark Crown Court of raping a woman he had met after one of his 2009 performances and of sexually assaulting three other women.
He was also found guilty of sexually assaulting a Capital Radio worker in 2005 and a Channel 4 employee during a forced massage in 2009. He was cleared of two charges of rape, one of attempted indecent assault and of orally raping an MTV worker in a toilet.
The court heard allegations from women who said Brand used his fame in pursuit of sexual encounters. The prosecution described women as a “disposable commodity” to him and called him “a sexual predator”; those remarks were part of the prosecution case.
Following the verdict, detectives appealed for further alleged victims to come forward. Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said there were two more cases under investigation and that he would not be surprised if “many more” women came forward.
Brand also faces possible further charges relating to allegations involving two women, including a schoolgirl. The Crown Prosecution Service is considering whether additional proceedings can be brought.
