TV

YouTube Suspends Ad Revenues on Russell Brand’s Videos to ‘Protect’ Users

CUT OFF

“If a creator’s off-platform behavior harms our users, employees or ecosystem, we take action,” a YouTube spokesperson said.

Comedian Russell Brand poses for photographers before signing copies of his new book in 2014.
Suzanne Plunkett/Reuters

Russell Brand will no longer earn money on his YouTube videos after the video-sharing platform suspended his ad revenues in order to “protect” users as he faces rape and sexual assault allegations. “If a creator’s off-platform behavior harms our users, employees or ecosystem, we take action,” a YouTube spokesperson said Tuesday. Monetization was suspended on Brand’s channel for “violating our Creator Responsibility policy,” the company said. Brand’s YouTube channel, where the comedian has built a following on conspiracy-theory-laced videos, has more than 6 million subscribers. Brand has denied the allegations against him, saying his sexual relationships were “always consensual.” Four women have come forward alleging Brand sexually assaulted them at the height of his fame, with one woman saying she was only 16 when he began to pursue her.

Read it at Variety

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