IMPACT x Nightline: Sex, Drugs & Fame: The Russell Brand Story (5/1)

THURSDAY, MAY 1
IMPACT x Nightline: “Sex, Drugs & Fame: The Russell Brand Story” (328) – Streaming Only on Hulu
Logline: Russell Brand’s raunchy British humor and bad-boy image helped launch his career, but now he’s facing criminal charges of sexual assault and rape, which he denies. “IMPACT x Nightline” investigates.

Extended Logline: This week on “IMPACT x Nightline,” “Nightline” co-anchor Juju Chang reports on Russell Brand, an English comedian once married to Katy Perry who is criminally charged with two counts of sexual assault, two counts of rape and indecent assault in Great Britain in April of this year. Chang takes a deep dive into Brand’s troubled rise to fame with rarely seen photos and video, an exclusive interview with his past roommate, and footage from a past “Nightline” sit-down with Brand. Chang also speaks with the attorney who represents a female extra from the set of the 2011 remake of “Arthur” who filed a civil complaint against Brand in 2023. The extra, named “Jane Doe” in the lawsuit, alleges she was sexually assaulted on her first day on set. Brand denies all accusations against him and has said any encounters were consensual. Now, he has pivoted from his racy past persona to a religious right-wing influencer, popping up at massive republican events like the 2024 Republican National Convention and engaging with right-wing media personalities like Tucker Carlson and Ben Shapiro. If convicted by the UK. court, Brand could face life in prison.

Episode Details:

• ABC News Studios’ “IMPACT x Nightline: Sex, Drugs & Fame: The Russell Brand Story” begins streaming on Thursday, May 1, only on Hulu.
• The episode, led by “Nightline” co-anchor Juju Chang, features new, exclusive interviews, including with Mark Pinheiro, a former roommate of Russell Brand, and with Jordan Merson, the attorney for one of Brand’s sexual assault accusers.
• Additional new interviews include the following:
  • Chris Gardner, senior writer, The Hollywood Reporter
  • Matt Flegenheimer, writer, The New York Times
  • Chloe Combi, columnist, The Independent
  • Claire Waxman, U.K. Independent Victims’ Commissioner