Conservative activists including former Fox News host Megyn Kelly and billionaire businessman Elon Musk expressed outrage over the conviction of comedic actor turned conspiracy podcaster Russell Brand, who was sentenced to more than a decade behind bars on Monday.
A British court ordered the outspoken 51-year-old “Get Him to the Greek” star to serve 10 1/2 years in prison for raping one woman and sexually assaulting three others on Monday. The offenses occurred when Brand’s star was on the rise between 2004 and 2009. A jury convicted him on Thursday. He denies any wrongdoing.
“Unjust,” Musk on his social media platform on the morning the sentence was handed down.
The Tesla and SpaceX boss expressed “support” for Brand in a 2023 post defending the star’s character.
Kelly, who previously expressed skepticism about the charges against the British actor on her podcast, was more animated in her response prior to his sentencing.
“I don’t believe these charges. I’m going to be honest. I don’t,” she repeated after he was convicted.
Brand admitted to Kelly in an April interview that he slept with a 16-year-old girl in Europe when he was 30, but argued that isn’t against the law.
“I was a very different person,” said Brand, who shares Kelly’s right-wing political bent.
Brand married author Laura Gallacher in 2017. They have three children.
“We’ll be OK,” he told her after being led to jail last week.
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