Piers Morgan has accused Russell Brand of being “inappropriately tactile” during an interview on his YouTube show, Piers Morgan Uncensored.
Former comedian and actor Brand made a widely mocked appearance on the show in which he spent more than 90 seconds trying and failing to find a Bible passage he had read in court.
Brand, 50, will face trial later this year over allegations of rape and sexual assault made against him by six women. He denies all the charges, which date from 1999 to 2009.
Since the interview aired, Morgan has responded to a viewer who remarked on how Brand repeatedly placed his hand on the presenter’s arm or shoulder.
“All that touching was extremely condescending,” the fan told Morgan on X, “did it bother you?”
“It was a bit weird, yes,” Morgan responded on 27 April. “Never had a guest be so inappropriately tactile during an interview, which surprised me given the allegations against him.”
The Independent has contacted Brand’s lawyer for comment.
Elsewhere during the interview, Brand spoke about his prior relationship with a 16-year-old girl, saying that he now believes his actions, while legal, were “morally and spiritually wrong”.
Earlier this month, he admitted that he had an “exploitative” sexual relationship with a 16-year-old when he was 30. The woman is not among those bringing charges against Brand.
“How I feel about it, as I’ve said, is that it’s not nice to know that my actions have contributed to a person’s suffering,” he said on Piers Morgan Uncensored.
“There should be, there must be, justice for that. The context in which those consensual encounters was happening was a sort of merry deluge of constant consensual activity that was very, very difficult to sometimes believe was happening, but one adjusts to those kind of conditions.
“I would say, Piers, on a personal level, that’s wrong. It’s morally and spiritually wrong, it’s legal. It’s not a legal issue.”
Brand’s trial will take place at Southwark Crown Court on 12 October.
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