TV scenes to song lyrics: Russell Brand pop culture references removed after his conviction

Following Russell Brand’s conviction, many references to him in pop culture have been removed or changed, including TV show scenes and song lyrics.

The comedian was sentenced to 10 years and six months in jail for rape and three counts of sexual assault on Monday. He must serve two-thirds of the sentence before he will be eligible for parole.

It comes after he committed sexual assault offences against four different women between 2004 and 2009, one of which shared a powerful victim statement in court. 

Tinie Tempah changed his lyric about Russell Brand 

In Tinie Tempah’s hit song Girls Like, he raps the famous lyric: “Said I was the man/ All I ever needed was a plan/ Tell JK that I’m still rollin’/ Tell Russell, I’m a brand.”

This was a reference to the disgraced comedian. However, while performing the song on stage this week, he changed the lyrics to: “Tell Jo, I’m a brand.”

The rapper chose to honour comedian and presenter Jo Brand, who shares the same surname, instead. The pair are not related in any way. 

Gavin and Stacey removed a Russell Brand joke 

Following the sentencing, the BBC has chosen to edit out a joke about Russell Brand from its much-loved sitcom Gavin and Stacey, written by Ruth Jones and James Corden. 

The line was in the 2008 Christmas special on BBC iPlayer and delivered by Ruth Jones’ character Nessa, who returns to the dinner party after putting baby Neil to sleep and says: “I had to read to him to get him off.”

Pam, played by Alison Steadman, then asks whether she was reading a fairy story, and Nessa replies: “No. Russell Brand: My Booky Wook. He’s loving every word.”

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After that, Nessa tells Stacey they didn’t get a mention in the comedian’s autobiography, and she says: “Aw that’s a shame. I’m quite disappointed, are you?” Nessa replies: “Don’t be, Stace. We had a cracking night, Pam. All three of us.”

It’s the second part of the scene about the “cracking night” they had with Russell Brand that’s been edited out and replaced with Nessa complimenting Pam on how she cooked the turkey instead. 

Russell Brand’s comedy has been hidden on Netflix 

Netflix has chosen to hide Russell Brand’s stand-up comedy special Re:Birth from people, but has refused to remove it completely from the platform. 

“We prioritise choice and control for our members: the freedom to watch what, how and when you want, with recommendations and ratings to inform those choices,’ a source told the paper,” a spokesperson for Netflix told The Telegraph.

Re:Birth was filmed in London and released in on Netflix in 2018. In the comedy special, Brand “ruminates on the state of the world and marvels over how his life changed the moment he became a father”. 

Credit: Wiktor Szymanowicz/Shutterstock

The comedian’s books have been pulled from sale 

Two major British publishers have announced that they have pulled Russell Brand’s books from sale with immediate effect. 

Pan Macmillan, who published his books Recovery: Freedom from Our Addictions (2017) and Mentors: How to Help and Be Helped (2019) told The Guardian: “We are withdrawing Russell Brand’s books from sale following his conviction, and this process is under way now. We recognise the courage it took for those who came forward, and our thoughts are with everyone affected by his crimes”. 

Hodder & Stoughton, who published Brand’s 2007 Christmas bestseller My Booky Wook, also confirmed to The Guardian that it has been withdrawn. Other books of his published by HarperCollins, Canongate and Century are also out of print.

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