Why Do Some Famous Men Keep Gaining Fans After Serious Allegations?

On November 9, Russell Brand was sentenced to over 10 years in prison after being found guilty on one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault. The four-week trial involved six women, who came forward after four others made public allegations against Brand via a 2023 investigation by The Times and The Sunday Times and supporting Dispatches documentary. Some accounts described his behavior as an “open secret” in the entertainment industry, spanning decades.Responding to the verdict, women’s domestic abuse charity Refuge said, “The guilty verdicts in this trial represent long overdue justice for the survivors whose lives have been devastated—sending an important signal that survivors’ voices matter, and abusers will be held accountable. At the same time, we know that in this trial not all survivors received a guilty verdict.”The organization added that the lengthy justice process, retraumatizing trial experience, and mixed verdicts reflected “the unacceptable barriers faced by survivors across the board,” adding that conviction rates for violence against women and girls offenses remain “alarmingly low” as a whole.With that in mind, is it any wonder that Brand has a combined following of almost 24 million across various social media platforms, even reportedly gaining close to 2 million followers since the accusations became public three years ago? Supporters stood outside court for him daily, holding signs pledging their devotion. And he’s far from the only famous man accused of major wrongdoing who managed to retain a huge audience or return to work (with some even going on to have bigger successes post-allegations).Alishia Abodunde//Getty ImagesIt raises an ugly question: Why can some men keep growing their platforms, careers, and bank balances after serious allegations emerge? And who’s responsible—the fans who stick around, the platforms that boost them, or the normalized misogyny that makes it so accepted to look the other way?Brand’s A-list life may be over—he told the court that former associates would no longer “touch him with a barge pole”—but he’s still managed to pivot, as so many accused men seem to, down the “reformed by religion” route (see also: Sean “Diddy” Combs clutching a Bible on his way into court after a video of him beating his ex, Cassie Ventura, in a hotel hallway spread like wildfire. He later posted an apology video and was convicted on two prostitution-related charges).ANGELA WEISS//Getty ImagesIn 2023, Parliament’s Culture, Media and Sport Committee raised concerns about whether Brand could profit from content about the allegations. YouTube said it suspended his channel’s monetization that September, but the content remains live, allowing Brand to spread harmful messaging (often referencing God’s will and how he’s been wrongly persecuted by “empire media,” all while promoting crypto betting sites).One popular comment, under a video posted mid-trial, at least hits the nail on the head: “On trial for rape but he sits there baring his chest in a leopard print nightgown quoting Bible verses at the camera while playing with a cat. Bizarre doesn’t cover it.”You don’t have to look far for other examples. Chris Brown pleaded guilty to assaulting Rihanna in 2009, and it would seem his music career carried on without much impact (even after another ex-partner, model Karrueche Tran, filed for a restraining order against him in 2017, testifying under oath that Brown had threatened to kill her—years after he’d completed a court-mandated domestic violence counseling program).James Manning - PA Images//Getty ImagesMost recently, his Breezy Bowl XX tour sold 1.93 million tickets across 48 shows in Europe and North America last year, taking more than $285 million. Last month, Brown was given a suspended eight-month prison sentence after pleading guilty to attacking a man in a London nightclub. Fans cheered as he left court.UFC fighter Conor McGregor was found liable by a jury for assaulting Nikita Hand after a civil trial at Ireland’s High Court. Hand’s lawyers had accused him of “brutally raping and battering” her, and she heartbreakingly recalled how she had to have a tampon removed by a doctor afterward, as the assault was so brutal. The director of public prosecutions had previously decided not to pursue a criminal case, and McGregor denied the allegations and returned to sports.NBC//Getty ImagesNone of these cases are identical, and of course, being accused is not the same as being found guilty. But with all these men, there were legal findings of some form of wrongdoing—and plenty within their fan bases have only seemed to lock in harder thereafter.Yes, these men’s careers have undoubtedly suffered in some capacity, but they’re still commanding views, gaining subscribers, and celebrating wins. And when controversy puts a man’s name in the headlines, outrage can easily become just another part of the business model.Women speak out. The story breaks. Then the man’s audience keeps growing. And it all begs the bleak question: If a conviction doesn’t even stop the numbers rising, what will? Maybe, just maybe, we can dare to hope that Brand’s sentencing is finally the start of this desperately needed change.