Russell Brand and the Hellfire Club

 

I don’t know whether Russell Brand was a rapist. The jury in his court case cannot know. There must surely be reasonable doubt. It is only one person’s word against another, over events allegedly taking place perhaps twenty years ago. There is, on the other hand, no question that Brand engaged in debauchery.

This case most clearly shows how the machine works. To get membership in the elite, to crawl to prominence,  into the cocktail circuit of those who can open doors, you first must do something debauched or immoral. It is their insurance policy. They own you. If you fail to follow orders, they have something on you, and can make it public, and call in the justice system.

It happened to Bill Cosby. Everybody knew of his alleged behaviour, and had no problem with it—until he started sounding roff on blacks taking responsibility. 

Now it has happened to Russell Brand. He was celebrated until he became a Christian, and tried to go straight. That was too dangerous to the powers that be.

I imagine Brand felt he could get away with it, because he had not actually done anything illegal. So he might expect to escape the trap. But it turns out, that is not enough. He had done enough that they could paint him as a rapist, and they did.

And others now will learn the lesson.