Brand may be a pariah in the UK – but Trumpworld still loves him

Russell Brand, who was jailed this week after being convicted of raping one woman and sexually assaulting three others, has been increasingly ostracised in the UK. But in the US, where he has developed ties with members of the Trump administration, he was still appearing at Maga events as recently as last month. On 21 October, weeks before his conviction, Brand was a guest speaker, via video, for an event organised by Maha (Make America Healthy Again) Action, a group founded by Tony Lyons, an American publisher and activist. The disgraced British comedian has become a regular advocate for the group Lyons started to “reverse America’s chronic disease epidemic”. Lyons – who travelled to the UK to attend the opening of Brand’s trial – reportedly told him: “You’ve just been a great force in the world and a great force for Maha,” adding: “We will stand up for you every week, week after week.” Lyons has not publicly commented since the 51-year-old’s conviction. In September, Brand appeared in person at a Maha summit at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in Washington DC. The event was attended by US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, Vice President JD Vance and other administration officials and business leaders. Brand endorsed RFK Jr during his 2024 presidential campaign, taking part in video calls to discuss campaign strategy, and was still appearing on supporters’ calls in July 2025. Yet despite the charges against him and his looming trial, Brand’s Trumpworld friends had appeared unfazed. Dr Mehmet Oz – another Maha champion, and administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services – told the crowd at September’s event that Brand had been backstage hugging US Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins.When the comedian appeared, Oz said – in what was reported to be a joke – “She initiated that contact, I should make clear.” Brand during Turning Point’s annual AmericaFest conference in Phoenix, Arizona in December last year Photo: Olivier Touron/AFP) What has been notable is that, even as many of his British friends started to cut links as the allegations grew, Brand’s allies in Trumpworld remained steadfast. “One day they’ll be coming for you,” Donald Trump Jr wrote on social media when allegations first surfaced, while seemingly likening the claims against the British comedian to those levelled at Julian Assange, Andrew Tate and his own father. I saw Brand’s attempts to win over the US right for myself back in 2024, less than a year after UK media had reported allegations of rape and sexual assault against him. At the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 2024, just days after Trump narrowly escaped an assassination attempt (he appeared with his right ear bandaged, with many in the hall wearing similar dressings) I watched Brand rub shoulders with Maga royalty. He spoke to Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump and interviewed Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Maga loyalist until she later fell out with the President over his failure to release the Epstein files and the administration’s support of Israel. Speaking of Brand, Greene told me at the time: “I think he’s great.” Brand at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 2024 (Photo: Leon Neal/Getty) Brand declined to explain exactly what he was doing at the event – The i Paper tried to get an answer from him as he walked out of one of the sessions, but he did not respond. However, his appearance in Milwaukee underscored his attempt to rebuild his image abroad. It also reflected the relationships he had developed with members of Trump’s inner circle, including the now-President’s sons, broadcaster Tucker Carlson and perhaps most importantly, RFK Jr, the leading force in Maha. In the summer of 2023, Brand had interviewed RFK Jr, a fellow vaccine sceptic, on his Stay Free podcast. They discussed the war in Ukraine and the RFK Jr said that while the US claimed it was backing Kyiv for humanitarian reasons, it was in truth a proxy war. After he was sworn into Trump’s cabinet less than two years later – long after the allegations against Brand came to light – Kennedy posted an image of himself holding a lizard alongside the comedian and a shirtless Oz. Trump has shown less sympathy over the years. In 2014 he publicly questioned singer Katy Perry, who married Brand in 2010 (they split after less than two years). “I watched Russell Brand and I think his mind is fried – he looks really bad,” Trump said in a social media post, adding that “Katy Perry must have been drunk when she married” him. But the same year, Brand had told Republican National Committee spokesperson Elizabeth Pipko: “If you care about democracy, if you care about freedom, I don’t know how you could do anything other than vote for Donald Trump.” On Tuesday, British police announced they were investigating new claims against Brand, who has denied all the allegations against him. They said they were acting after more information about “a potential criminal allegation”. Sentencing him this week at Southwark Crown Court in London, Mr Justice Bennathan made clear there was nothing funny about his actions. The judge called Brand a “sexual predator” and praised the courage of his victims who had spoken out. He said Brand believed “fame meant you could act how you liked, when you liked, unhindered by the rules by which decent people live”. In many ways, that is the kind of attitude that has come to dominate discourse around Trump and his presidency, and perhaps is why so many in Trumpworld have given Brand the benefit of the doubt for so long.