Katherine Ryan shares one-word response to Russell Brand allegations

Katherine Ryan has shared her one-word response to the sexual assault allegations against Russell Brand.

Ryan’s previous comments about an unnamed sexual predator, believed to be about Brand, came to light last week after he was accused of rape, sexual assault and emotional abuse following an investigation by Channel 4, The Times and The Sunday Times. Brand has strongly denied the allegations.

Ryan has not yet addressed the allegations against Brand directly, but in a recent interview with Metro, the Canadian comedian spoke about the importance of consent amid public calls for her to address the claims.

“If you came here for anything else, I should put you out of your misery now and let you know that I have nothing else to say about anything,” she said about the allegations.

The comedian then went on to argue that he consent appears to be “totally unimportant” when it comes to her decision not to comment further.

She continued: “Apart from, I guess, passing observation, when a woman says ‘No, I don’t want to engage in that conversation and I have no comment on that story. No, I won’t be confirming or denying or participating about anything in the news right now’, her consent is not valid.

“Why is my consent totally unimportant when we are speaking a lot in the press right now, speaking about the importance of consent?”

She then added that the one-word response “No” should be enough to justify her not commenting further. “No is a full sentence, ladies, gentlemen. No!”

After the allegations against Brand emerged last week, previous comments made by Ryan began to circulate online. While appearing together on Comedy Central’s Roast Battle in 2018, Ryan reportedly accused Brand of predatory behaviour.

Her allegations were not included in the final edit, and Brand was reportedly angry at being targeted.

Ryan said last year that she confronted an unnamed but prominent TV personality about being a “perpetrator of sexual assault” during the filming of a TV show, though her remarks were cut from the broadcast.

“It’s a litigious minefield because lots of people have tried to nail this person down for their alleged crimes and this person has very good lawyers, so am I going to put my mortgage on the line by saying who this person is or entering into any conversations like that?” she told broadcaster Louis Theroux. “We’ve seen what happens to people who talk about alleged predators.

“It’s not really my story to tell. No one has perpetrated any sexual assault against me, but this person, I believe very strongly – many people believe very strongly – is an open secret, is a perpetrator of sexual assault,” Ryan added.

Last week, before the sexual assault claims came to light, Brand released a video denying “very serious criminal allegations”, and said that all his relationships were consensual.

Since the reports were released on Saturday (September 16), allegations from more women have emerged, with The Times saying they have not been investigated yet, though will be “rigorously checked”.

Both Channel 4 and the BBC have opened investigations into Brand, and the Metropolitan Police have requested information from The Times and Channel 4 investigation regarding any alleged offences, and have urged any victims to come forward.

Women’s charity Trevi Women and literacy agency Tavistock Wood have cut ties with Brand, while Channel 4 have also removed all content featuring Brand from their streaming service.

NME has reached out to Brand, Ryan.

For help, advice or more information regarding sexual harassment, assault and rape in the UK, visit the Rape Crisis charity website. In the US, visit RAINN.

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