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Katie Glass recalls Brand's "no regrets" answer in 2017

The journalist revisits an interview about addiction and recovery, describing a lack of concern for others that troubled her long before his conviction.

Channel: CBC News ·

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Russell Brand had 'no compassion or insight,' says journalist who interviewed comedian in 2017

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0:16Glass highlights the sentence and the judge's remarks challenging rape myths and emphasizing consent.
1:31She argues that Brand's popularity with some women is irrelevant to the women who did not consent.
2:57Glass recalls Brand saying he had no regrets when asked about his addictions' impact on others.
4:52She describes how his charm and charisma made speaking out difficult.
6:36Glass recounts an uncomfortable flirtatious exchange during her 2017 interview.

Katie Glass asked Russell Brand about regret while interviewing him for his book Recovery in 2017. What startled her, she recalls, was his answer about the effect his addictions had on the people around him.

"I asked if he had any regrets. He said, 'I have no regrets,' which startled me," Glass says in an interview with Canada's CBC News, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's news service.

Her recollection concerns that earlier conversation about addiction, not a response from Brand to his criminal conviction. Speaking after his sentencing, Glass describes the absence of compassion or insight she felt during their encounter.

The broadcast reports that the British actor and comedian received ten years and six months in prison for raping a woman and sexually assaulting three others. Glass, a feature writer and columnist for The Times, says the judge's remarks were significant for addressing consent and myths about rape.

She also challenges the suggestion that Brand's popularity with women somehow explains away his conduct. Her point is that the case concerned women who did not want him, regardless of how many others might have found him attractive.

Archive footage includes Crown Prosecution Service representative David Roberts describing Brand as a manipulative sexual predator, citing the evidence presented in court.

Asked why troubling behavior was tolerated for so long, Glass points to the difficulty of speaking out about someone others experienced as charming, talented and entertaining. "He was charming, he was fun to be around, he was interesting," she says.

Glass ends with another memory from the 2017 interview: Brand looking into her eyes, commenting on them and asking whether she wanted a cuddle. She describes the exchange as uncomfortable, part of the encounter she is reassessing after his sentencing.

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