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Comedian vows to expose misogynists in her industry after Russell Brand conviction

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Cite

Huggett, P. (2026, November 13). Comedian vows to expose misogynists in her industry after Russell Brand conviction. Evening Standard. https://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/russell-brand-josie-long-misogyny-comedy-b1304775.html

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

Evening Standard · collected 2026-11-13 · by Poppy Huggett

Quick Summary

Comedian Ryan Long publicly detailed a physical assault by Russell Brand that occurred when she was 22 years old, during which he chased her and bit her face backstage. Speaking on the Novara Live podcast, Long condemned the "toxic" culture of the comedy industry and issued a direct warning to other misogynists in the field. The report highlights this testimony alongside Brand's recent conviction at Southwark Crown Court, where he received a prison sentence of 10 years and six months for one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault.
Written by AI on 2026-11-14, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 10% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Daily Mail
Hedges 3 of 39 claims Outlet record 70/100
“The articles describe different accounts of interactions with Russell Brand, not the same specific incident.”
Daily Mail
Hedges 3 of 53 claims Outlet record 70/100
“The articles describe different interactions Russell Brand had with two different women on separate occasions.”
Daily Mail
Hedges 2 of 36 claims Outlet record 70/100
“The articles describe different incidents involving Russell Brand, one where Richard Osman criticizes Brand's talent and character, and the other where a female comedian recounts a physical assault by Brand.”
Daily Mail
Hedges 3 of 85 claims Outlet record 70/100
“The articles describe different incidents involving Russell Brand, with Article A focusing on Brand's behavior at a comedy awards event and Article B recounting a personal experience from the speaker's past.”
The Sydney Morning Herald
Hedges 2 of 27 claims Outlet record 61/100
“While both articles discuss Russell Brand's sexual misconduct and recent conviction, Article B focuses on a specific incident recounted by a woman on a podcast, which is a separate event from the police investigation and sentencing described in Article A.”
The Guardian
Hedges 7 of 33 claims Outlet record 65/100
“Article A reports on new accusations of misconduct against Russell Brand and his sentencing, while Article B discusses a personal experience of a different individual with Russell Brand from when she was 22 years old.”
Daily Mail
Hedges 5 of 50 claims Outlet record 70/100
“The articles describe different encounters with Russell Brand involving different individuals at different times.”
Daily Mail
Leans right Hedges 0 of 30 claims Outlet record 70/100
“The articles describe different incidents, one defending Russell Brand and invoking Charlie Kirk's perspective, and the other involving a comedian recounting her own experience with Brand.”
Daily Mail
Hedges 1 of 33 claims Outlet record 70/100
“The articles describe different incidents related to Russell Brand's misconduct but do not describe the same specific event.”
Evening Standard
Hedges 4 of 42 claims Outlet record 64/100
“While both articles mention Russell Brand's conviction for sexual offenses, Article B describes a different incident involving biting and chasing that is not mentioned in Article A, indicating they are reporting on separate events.”

Story

Comedian vows to expose misogynists in her industry
Other · 1 article(s) covering the same event.
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
20
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
10%
2 of 20 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
64/100
Evening Standard's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Other
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-11-14 · 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 · 10033 article(s) · 75 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 75 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Poppy Huggett
91 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
As they discussed Brand’s sentence, Ball, 55, agreed that it was “emotional” and spoke about the impact of his “harrowing” trial. She said: “I think it’s been a real collective feeling of horror and upset. “Then ultimately, I guess, relief that finally something big has happened that you hope is going to help women.” The former BBC Radio 2 DJ continued: “The moment where he was convicted last week, in my workplace, everyone was in silence watching the news. “It was so emotional.” Brand began his career as a TV presenter and comedian and became a Hollywood star, appearing in films such as Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Hop and the Despicable Me franchise. Read More He is expected to serve two thirds of his sentence before being released on licence, and will be on the sex offenders’ register for life.
Speaking on the Novara Live podcast, Long recalled: “I actually had an experience with Russell Brand… where backstage he would bite my face and I would tell him I didn’t like it and he would chase me around.
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Also by Poppy Huggett
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 91 articles by Poppy Huggett →

Topics

Channel 4's Novara Live Southwark Crown Court

Subjects

Brand ORG · 8× Long PERSON · 3× Feltz PERSON · 2× Channel 4's ORG · 1× Louis Theroux PERSON · 1× Novara Live ORG · 1× Russell Brand PERSON · 1× Ryan PERSON · 1× Sean Lock PERSON · 1× Vanessa Feltz PERSON · 1×

Narrative

Speaking on the Novara Live podcast, Long recalled: “I actually had an experience with Russell Brand… where backstage he would bite my face and I would tell him I didn’t like it and he would chase me around.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-11-14
Speaking on the Novara Live podcast, Long recalled: “I actually had an experience with Russell Brand… where backstage he would bite my face and I would tell him I didn’t like it and he would chase me around.

Claims (20 extracted, 2 hedged)

The 44-year-old said the incident happened when she was 22, describing the experience as “overwhelming” and saying it took considerable effort to get Brand to stop. asserted
Brand → say → effort
Speaking on the Novara Live podcast, Long recalled: “I actually had an experience with Russell Brand… where backstage he would bite my face and I would tell him I didn’t like it and he would chase me around. asserted
he → speak → me
“I would like giggle because I was 22 and it was overwhelming. asserted
it → like → ?
But I remember I had to be very… it took a lot for him to stop. asserted
him → remember → lot
“And it’s funny now to reckon with that and to be like, ‘Oh, that was a physical assault, wasn’t it?’” asserted
it → ’ → that
Long went on to criticise what she described as a “toxic” culture within comedy, issuing a warning to others she believes have behaved inappropriately. asserted
she → go → others
“Let’s look forward to the next ten years,” she said. asserted
she → look → years
“And also please let me say this very clearly, all other misogynists in comedy, we are coming for you and I hope you never sleep again.” asserted
you → let → you
Long is the latest comedian to speak publicly about Brand following his conviction for rape and sexual assault. asserted
Long → speak → rape
Ryan has also spoken about confronting an unnamed individual she considered a predator while working in television, claiming his behaviour was an “open secret” within the industry. asserted
behaviour → speak → industry
She has previously discussed the subject in an interview with Louis Theroux. asserted
She → discuss → Theroux
Meanwhile, resurfaced footage of the late comedian Sean Lock criticising Brand on Channel 4's 8 Out Of 10 Cats in 2014 has attracted renewed attention. asserted
comedian → resurface → attention
Television presenter Vanessa Feltz has also revisited an uncomfortable exchange with Brand on his former chat show, 1 Leicester Square, in 2006. asserted
Feltz → revisit → 2006
During the appearance, Brand asked whether he could have sex with Feltz's two daughters. uncertain
he → ask → daughters
She firmly replied: “No you may not.” uncertain
you → reply → ?
Read More He continued: “Come on, some of them are adults.” asserted
some → read → them
Recalling the exchange, Feltz said she had initially found Brand entertaining but later felt there was something “extremely chilling” about him. asserted
Brand → recall → him
Brand, 51, was sentenced to 10 years and six months in prison at Southwark Crown Court after being convicted of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault against four women. asserted
Brand → sentence → women
He was acquitted of two further rape charges and one count of attempted indecent assault. asserted
He → acquit → assault
Brand denied all the charges. asserted
Brand → deny → charges
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