Sunday Times & C4 due to drop a big story [Russell Brand]

Claims it not just Brand but two others, David Walliams and Noel Fielding with claims Fielding took teenage fans into his dressing room during filming.
https://twitter.com/search?q=%22David%20Walliams%2...

Didn't think bakeoff had anyone else present during filming?

I was in Pizza hut in Windosr - just saying

I note you didn’t mention liable laws. Yes, generally gagging orders are evidence of something someone doesn’t want public, rather than using the laws that exist, and are strongly in favour of the claimant, they go for an injunction and hope they can string it out until it all goes away.

Use of an injunction is basically an admission that what is said is true, but that the person brining it is trying to keep the information private. This can be for a number of reasons, some valid, most not, hence the controversy around SLAPP laws and super injunctions and them being used as intimidation. It is quite reasonable however to take the use of these, rather than the use of other laws, as evidence that what is being said is wholly or substantially true.

The fact that he hasn’t gone down the injunction route, or has and it’s about to run out, tells me either he knew it would fail or he thinks he can fight it in the media. Neither of which says is a defence.

Again, this isn’t a court of law, and I have every right to make my mind up on the evidence. If Brand wants to clear his name then there are ways to do that. Let’s not forget how long the likes of Savile and Harris carried on whilst dismissing everything as malicious rumours. I’ll trust the journalists with evidence far more than another Brand video rant.

There was a very notable shift a couple of years ago, when he basically switched from charismatic left wing movie star ladies man, into right wing joe rogan 'uncancellable' indie podcaster

It always seemed a bit odd. With hindsight, if you had 2 years notice this was going to happen, excellent lawyers, this career pivot is pretty much exactly what you would do.

<cough>Nicola Sturgeon<cough>

It feels like this is standard advertising for dispatches. Is anyone really going to be surprised in any way if it has a couple (of dozen?) of teenagers saying Brand was total narcissistic prick with an exhausting, dominating personality who slept with them without consent while smashing lines of coke and berating them?

Maybe they have footage of Michael Macintyre stepping off stage, his cheeky smile evaporating the instant he's out of camera, punching a child who approaches him for an autograph and picking three girls from the line of stone-faced groupies trafficked to his roadshow who then follow him, whimpering in trepidation, to his tent from which screams then emanate.

Give over, it’s more widespread in mainland Europe and the USA and always has been. It’s simply more noticeable these days as so much reporting has no boundaries despite our tighter press laws.

A strict defence against libel/slander is that the person defending can prove the alleged libel/slander is true.

In what circumstances would someone prefer to rely on a mop rather than a milk bottle?