Tinie Tempah has changed the Russell Brand-related lyrics to one of his songs in light of the comedian’s conviction of rape and sexual assault.
On Monday (9 November), following a four-week trial at Southwark Crown Court in London, Brand, 51, was sentenced to 10 years and six months in prison after being convicted of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault. His trial came over three years after Channel 4’s Dispatches publicly accused Brand of sexually assaulting other women between 2006 and 2013.
During a concert on Thursday (5 November), following the guilty verdict, Tinie Tempah – real name Patrick Chukwuemeka Okogwu Jr – altered the lyrics to one of his songs.
Performing his hit 2016 song “Girls Like” on stage, Tempah sang: “Said I was the man/ All I ever needed was a plan/ Tell JK I’m still rollin’/ Tell Jo, I’m a brand.”
The lyrics had originally referenced Russell Brand – “Tell Russell I’m a brand” – however, the new version now seemingly references a different comedian who shares the same surname, Jo Brand.
The on-stage moment comes as many famous faces are reacting to the news of Brand’s conviction. Fellow comedian Jimmy Carr has come under fire for making what some people have called a “despicable” joke in relation to the situation.
Shortly after Brand’s sentencing on Monday (9 November), Carr posted a clip of his comedy gig to X in which was asked by an audience member for his thoughts on the subject.
In his response, Carr alluded to Brand’s impending prison sentence, making a pointed joke about the threat of prison rape: “I think Russell Brand’s views on sex and consent are going to radically change in the next week.”
Meanwhile, a Russell Brand joke that originally appeared in a 2009 Gavin & Stacey Christmas special no longer features in the episode on BBC iPlayer – although it is unclear when the cut took place given that fans noticed the change in November, shortly after the release of the Dispatches allegations.
A spokesperson from the BBC said at the time: “This version was uploaded to BBC iPlayer in error. The original version will be on BBC iPlayer shortly.”The Independent has contacted the BBC, Jones and Corden for comment.
Several of Brand’s past jokes have similarly resurfaced, with one in particular labelled by Vanessa Feltz as chilling. In 2006, during a televised interview, Brand asked the Loose Women star if he could have sex with her daughters, the youngest being only 15 at the time.
Another clip has since also gone viral, in which Brand can be heard joking about indecent exposure and “dragging a woman into a cubicle” on BBC Radio 2.
