Russell Brand has taken a new step to express his devotion to Christianity. In an Instagram post on Monday, the embattled actor-comedian turned commentator shared his baptism experience, months after being accused of rape and sexual assault by several women in a joint investigation by The Sunday Times, The Times, and Channel 4 docuseries Dispatches.
“I got baptized and it was an incredible, profound experience,” he said in the video. “Many aspects of it were very intimate and personal,” he continued, “As a person who has in the past taken many substances and always been disappointed with their inability to deliver the kind of tranquility and peace and even transcendence that I always felt I’ve been looking for, something occurred in the process of baptism that was incredible, overwhelming, literally overwhelming because I was obviously under water and it was the River Thames.”
Prior to converting to Christianity, Brand had been “into Hinduism,” according to ex-wife Katy Perry. He’s been public about his Christian faith for years, but started posting his thoughts on Christianity to social media in 2023—the same year he was accused of rape and physical and emotional abuse between 2006 and 2013 by four women in a scathing TV documentary. Since then, more women have come forward to either accuse Brand of other instances of assault or share that they believed the accusers.
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Brand denied the accusations prior to the documentary’s release, stating that all of his relationships have been consensual. In January, he called the accusations a “public concoction” while being interviewed by conservative commentator Tucker Carlson.
The myriad of accusations against him haven’t kept him from expressing the “transcendental” experience Brand says he’s experiencing as a Christian. Prior to discussing his baptism online, last week he argued in another video that Christianity is “inherently political,” since Jesus “was pretty radical when it came to confrontations with power, a [had a] willingness to say things that are challenging.”
In the new video, Brand expressed that he felt “changed, transitioned” by becoming baptized and that he understands the cynicism his video inspires—but not because of the accusations about his behavior—but because “people see me as a celebrity.”
“I recognize that anything in this terrain, in the social media world could be exploited and utilized,” he said. “For me, I’ve made the decision and I know what the decision is. I’ve made it for myself and I’ve prayed that it will be relevant to my family.”
“This is my path now and I already feel incredibly blessed,” he added.
