Russell Brand's Meta Accounts Disabled Amid Prison Sentence; X Post Appears

According to BBC UK, the social media accounts belonging to Russell Brand on platforms owned by the technology company Meta have been deactivated. This action follows the sentencing of the 51-year-old former entertainer earlier this week to 10-and-a-half years in jail for one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault. The charges involved four women and related to offenses that occurred between 2004 and 2009. Brand is presently incarcerated and is anticipated to serve seven years of his sentence in custody before being released on licence.

On Wednesday evening, a message was posted on Brand's X account, which remains operational. The post stated that "There was never a Russell Brand, according to @meta," and further included the phrase "Thank God for @elonmusk," referencing the owner of X, concluding with "Stay tuned."

The BBC has contacted X seeking comment. The post reportedly contained images that appeared to show Brand's Instagram account had been disabled. Meta's community standards policy states that to uphold a safe environment and promote free expression, it will restrict or remove accounts that are considered "harmful to the community," which includes accounts belonging to convicted sex offenders.

Separately, in 2023, YouTube suspended Brand's channels from earning revenue from advertisements after a media investigation brought to light allegations regarding his conduct, which Brand denies. At that time, the video platform stated it was taking action to protect its users for "violating" its "creator responsibility policy."