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Tinie Tempah praised for axing Russell Brand lyric from hit song after rape conviction

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Cite

Karasin, E. (2026, November 10). Tinie Tempah praised for axing Russell Brand lyric from hit song after rape conviction. Evening Standard. https://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/tinie-tempah-russell-brand-lyric-b1304315.html

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

Evening Standard · collected 2026-11-10 · by Ekin Karasin

Quick Summary

Tinie Tempah altered a lyric in his song "Girls Like" during a recent concert performance, replacing Russell Brand's name with "brand," following Brand's conviction for rape and subsequent sentencing to 10-and-a-half years in prison. Fans responded positively on social media to Tempah’s decision. The article highlights broader reactions from celebrities and public figures regarding the case, including criticism of Brand’s views on consent and comments from a judge about Brand’s past actions as a sexual predator.
Written by AI on 2026-11-10, from this article's own text only.

AI analysis

Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it -0.45, but 1 quote(s) could not be found in the article and the other 2 are attributed speech rather than the article's own narration, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 142111: no verified evidence · logged 2026-11-10

Compared with similar articles

Nothing to compare against. No article is close enough to this one for the pipeline to have linked or judged the pair.
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
18
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
6%
1 of 18 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
64/100
Evening Standard's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
unclustered
not grouped into a story yet
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-11-10 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Evening Standard · 9419 article(s) · 74 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 74 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Ekin Karasin
87 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
Russell Brand victims treated in 'shocking and depressing way' in court, says Labour minister Brand’s defence barrister Ian Winter KC has faced backlash for claiming the rape should only be “regarded as a man who went too far” and that the victims were “not particularly vulnerable at all”. Winter also argued that Brand’s crimes were due to his level of fame at the time and said he could not be a rapist as his accusers had not “resisted or screamed or even tried to leave”.
The comedian posted the video to his X account on Monday - an hour after Brand was sentenced to prison - to plug dates for his new show, Killing Jokes, which is set to tour across the UK and US in 2027.
Perry was reportedly waiting for the outcome of his trial but has been in “active discussions” with producers about a possible show and is set to finalise a deal, sources claimed.
In video footage circulating online, furious Foxx yelled: "Why would you do something like that?
Producers had reportedly been trying to entice Jama to stay, with a source telling The Sun: “Execs went to great lengths to try and keep Maya, including pushing the show back in January.
The theme park said: "The World Of David Walliams will be permanently closed from Tuesday November 3 2026.
“His talent and passion touched so many, and his legacy will live on in every single one of us.
Sunday offers more of a relaxed family-centred vibe, with a jungle kids’ rave, a karaoke singalong with EastEnders actor Shaun Williamson and a 6pm display.
Why a couple who may have got a 7 last week, getting a 5 this week."
Manchesterism, associated with Prime Minister and former Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, is about the devolution of power to the regions, combining economic growth with social progress.
Also by Ekin Karasin
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 87 articles by Ekin Karasin →

Topics

Capital Radio Channel 4 MTV Sunday Times Tempah

Subjects

Brand PERSON · 8× Russell Brand PERSON · 3× Bennathan PERSON · 2× Urwin PERSON · 2× Winter PERSON · 2× Carr PERSON · 1× Channel 4 ORG · 1× Patrick Chukwuemeka Okogwu Jr PERSON · 1× Russell Brand’s PERSON · 1× Tempah ORG · 1×

Narrative

The astonishing exchange came after Brand’s legal team sought to blame media coverage for the case against him, with Winter arguing during the trial that reporting by Urwin and others had “poisoned the well” and made it impossible for his client to receive a fair trial.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-11-10
The comedian posted the video to his X account on Monday - an hour after Brand was sentenced to prison - to plug dates for his new show, Killing Jokes, which is set to tour across the UK and US in 2027.

Claims (18 extracted, 1 hedged)

Tempah - real name Patrick Chukwuemeka Okogwu Jr - switched up the lyric while performing his 2016 song, Girls Like, at a concert on Thursday. asserted
Tempah → switch → Thursday
He sang: “Said I was the man / All I ever needed was a plan / Tell JK that I’m still rollin’ / Tell Jo, I’m a brand.” asserted
I → sing → Jo
Fans praised the move on social media, with one writing, “Mad respect for this,” and another adding: “Yesss. Period.” asserted
another → praise → Period
A slew of celebrities have been reacting to Brand’s conviction and jailing over the past few days. asserted
slew → react → days
The comedian posted the video to his X account on Monday - an hour after Brand was sentenced to prison - to plug dates for his new show, Killing Jokes, which is set to tour across the UK and US in 2027. asserted
which → post → 2027
In the clip, Carr responded to a heckler asking what he thought about Brand. asserted
he → respond → Brand
“What do I think about Russell Brand? asserted
I → think → Brand
It’s crazy to think that Russell Brand is going to jail for something he didn’t do… get consent,” he said. asserted
he → ’ → consent
“I think Russell Brand’s views on sex and consent are going to radically change in the next week.” asserted
views → think → week
Other women who worked at Channel 4, MTV and Capital Radio also accused the former television presenter of sexual misconduct. asserted
who → work → misconduct
On Monday, Mr Justice Bennathan criticised Brand’s “staggering arrogance” as he sentenced him to 10-and-a-half years in prison. asserted
he → criticise → prison
Read More The judge told Brand: “About 20 years ago Russell Brand, you were becoming famous, you were clever, and in many people’s eyes you were funny and charismatic. asserted
you → read → eyes
You had also become a sexual predator.” asserted
You → become → ?
Ian Winter KC turned on Sunday Times journalist Rosamund Urwin, whose investigation helped bring Brand’s victims forward, confronting her with the extraordinary words: “I hope you are pleased with yourself.” asserted
you → turn → yourself
Urwin refused to back down, firing back: “I’m pleased justice has been done,” to Winter replied: “Well, it wasn’t. asserted
it → refuse → Winter
You f***** it. asserted
You → f → it
The astonishing exchange came after Brand’s legal team sought to blame media coverage for the case against him, with Winter arguing during the trial that reporting by Urwin and others had “poisoned the well” and made it impossible for his client to receive a fair trial. asserted
client → come → trial
But his claims were rejected by trial judge Mr Justice Bennathan, who dismissed Brand’s bid to prevent the trial from going ahead because of negative media coverage. uncertain
who → reject → coverage
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