Meta removes Russell Brand's accounts after rape, sexual assault sentencing

Meta removes Russell Brand's accounts after rape, sexual assault sentencing Advertisement Updated: 3:43 PM CST Nov 12, 2026 Editorial Standards ⓘ Meta removes Russell Brand's accounts after rape, sexual assault sentencing Updated: 3:43 PM CST Nov 12, 2026 Editorial Standards ⓘ Russell Brand's Meta accounts were disabled on Wednesday following his sentence earlier in the week. Brand was sentenced Monday to 10½ years in prison for raping one woman and sexually assaulting three others during a time when his bawdy behavior was indulged and celebrated during his rise to stardom. Advertisement A jury of eight men and four women found him guilty of attacking four of six accusers. He was cleared of two counts of rape and one count of attempted indecent assault. Related video above: Comedian, actor Russell Brand charged with rape and sexual assault Brand’s team announced the Meta ban on his X account on Wednesday. The post read, “There never was a Russell Brand, according to @Meta. Thank God for @elonmusk. Stay tuned.” He has over 10 million followers on X, whose owner, Elon Musk, has questioned the British justice system . Brand had more than 6 million followers on Facebook and nearly 5 million on Instagram, according to an article from The New York Times . The New York Times reported that a Meta spokesman told the news outlet in an email that the accounts were disabled because its policies do not allow accounts "owned by a convicted sex offender, convicted of offenses related to the sexual abuse of children or adults." The policy also states that includes accounts "owned by a Designated Entity or run on their behalf. His YouTube account, with more than 6 million subscribers, is still active. A YouTube spokesman declined to comment to The New York Times on whether the former star's conviction would affect the status of his account on the platform. According to British website GOV.UK, "Prisoners are not allowed to have access to social networking websites," while they are in custody. Russell Brand is sentenced to 10 1/2 years in a British prison for rape and sexual assault The New York Times and The Associated Press contributed to this report. Make WISN a preferred source on Google Add Preferred Source Share Infinite Scroll Enabled Top Picks Teen who has autism found alive after missing for nearly a week in the Australian woodlands Microsoft confirms Outlook outage affecting users worldwide Father of baby found buried alive in South Carolina denied bond Nvidia stock falls following CEO resignation