Russell Brand dropped from Comedy Central’s ‘Roast Battle’ after Katherine Ryan alleged he was a sexual predator

The comedian reportedly accused Brand on camera

Deadline reported on Monday that Brand was booked as a judge on Comedy Central’s Roast Battle in 2018, but only lasted one season after being accused on-camera of sexually assaulting women.

Deadline reported, citing three sources close to the Fulwell 73 production, that Roast Battle judge Katherine Ryan turned the heat on Brand a number of times during filming, but her allegations did not make the final edit.

Brand is said to have demanded that producers protect him from being roasted by his fellow comedians, the publication said, but when the production company became uncomfortable with the rumours, and his reluctance to be roasted, they dropped him.

Deadline said it had confirmed with multiple sources that she was referring to Brand and Roast Battle.

The publication further suggested the incident on Roast Battle may have been a turning point in Brand's career, given he did not appear on UK TV screens thereafter, expect for on The Great Celebrity Bake Off.

Fulwell 73 did not comment to Deadline, but Paramount said: “We are aware of the very serious allegations raised in the investigation by The Sunday Times, The Times and Dispatches. Russell Brand was a presenter on MTV at periods between 2000-2012 and was a panellist on Comedy Central UK’s Roast Battle in 2017.

“We are not currently aware of any reports of misconduct having been raised with MTV or Comedy Central, but if any are brought forward they will be investigated. The welfare of all those working on, or contributing to, our shows is our highest priority and today we have robust duty of care procedures in place on all programmes produced for us including confidential whistleblowing lines.”

In a statement on Friday ahead of the report, Brand said the allegations against him “pertain to the time when I was working in the mainstream, when I was in the newspapers all the time, when I was in the movies, and as I have written about extensively in my books, I was very, very promiscuous.”

He continued: “Now during that time of promiscuity the relationships I had were absolutely, always consensual. I was always transparent about that then, almost too transparent, and I am being transparent about it now as well.

“To see that transparency metastasised into something criminal, that I absolutely deny, makes me question – is there another agenda at play?”

Brand has claimed that there is witnesses whose evidence “directly contradicts the narrative that these two mainstream media outlets are trying to construct.”

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