Katherine Ryan breaks her silence onRussell Brand as she jokes about the 'elephant in the room' du
Katherine Ryan has referenced her comments on Russell Brand for the first time since he was accused of rape and sexual assault this week.
During an on-stage appearance at the RTS Cambridge on Wednesday evening, Katherine joked about the ‘elephant in the room’, after it was revealed she accused Brand of being a sexual predator.
Katherine then insisted the ‘elephant’ she was referring to was her recent two-stone weight loss, as she avoided any further reference to her former colleague, 48.
Katherine had accused Brand of being a ‘sexual predator’ while working on the series Roast Battle, before he was dropped from the show.
Her accusations have emerged after Russell was subject to claims from a number of women accusing him of abusive and predatory behaviour, including rape, sexual assault and emotional abuse, which he has vehemently denied.
Speaking out: Katherine Ryan joked about the ‘elephant in the room’, after it emerged she accused Russell Brand of being a sexual predator (pictured on Roast Battle in 2018)
During her appearance, Katherine joked that her weight loss was ‘the elephant in the room,’ but failed to mention Brand.
Russell was a judge on Comedy Central’s Roast Battle in 2018 but was only included for one season after Ryan allegedly roasted him on-camera about allegations he sexually assaulted women – which he fervently denied.
Roast Battle consists of comedians cracking jokes at each other’s expense. The first season included Brand, Ryan, and Jimmy Carr. Jonathan Ross replaced Brand for the second season.
During filming of the show – created by Fulwell 73 – Ryan reportedly fired allegations at Brand. Her comments did not make the aired show, according to Deadline.
Ryan’s confrontations allegedly revealed how comedians in the industry were openly talking about Brand’s alleged sexual and predatory behaviour.
Brand was allegedly ‘absolutely furious’ after being targeted by Ryan on the show, a source told the paper.
Two other sources claimed he demanded that producers protect him from being roasted about these serious allegations.
Industry insiders have now revealed that they felt it was best Brand step down as a judge on the programme, and that ‘in the end, it came down to the fact that it seemed like Russell didn’t have a good sense of humour’.
This show appears to be one of Brand’s final appearances on UK TV screens, except for on the Great British Celebrity Bake Off in the same year.
Breaking her silence: The comedian made an on-stage appearance at the RTS Cambridge on Wednesday where she made the quip in reference to her two-stone weight loss
Speaking out: Katherine had accused Brand of being a ‘sexual predator’ while working on the series Roast Battle, before he was dropped from the show
Earlier this week, Katherine told The Mail that how she and her female co-stars have avoided speaking out about sexual predators working in the industry over fears they will be seen as ‘trouble makers.’
She also confirmed that female comics do share their stories and fears over which men are predatory because they view that as being the best way to keep themselves safe.
She said: ‘Do you think maybe that singles me out as a trouble maker? Do you think perhaps women don’t come forward for this and other similar reasons.
‘Women in my industry have these conversations and warn each other because that’s the best course of safe action for us.’
Katherine Ryan previously claimed to have told a comedian ‘to his face’ that he was a sexual predator and that accusations against this person were an ‘open secret’.
The Canadian comic and writer told Louis Theroux that she had confronted the unnamed man while they worked together on a TV show in front of the audience ‘again and again’.
Shocking: Russell has been subject to claims from a number of women accusing him of abusive and predatory behaviour, which he has vehemently denied
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Speaking in 2022, she said she had no qualms with doing so as she had decided to handle it ‘like a man’ – although the confrontation itself was later cut from the broadcast.
In her chat with Theroux, Ryan claimed she had received criticism afterwards for not naming the person in question in public, but said just talking about him was a ‘litigious minefield’ as he had ‘very good lawyers’.
In the Dispatches documentary that first revealed the allegations against Brand comedian Daniel Sloss claimed Brand’s behaviour was well-known to many and women would warn each other about him.
He told the show there were ‘many stories with varying degrees of severity’ about Brand that came from a number of different people in the comedy circuit.
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