The Quixotic Rise of Russell Brand

Wed, 4/8/2015 - by Charlotte Dingle

“The Occupy movement made a difference in that it introduced to the popular public lexicon the idea of the 1% versus the 99%. People for the first time in a generation are aware of massive corporate and economic exploitation.” - Russell Brand, "Newsnight," October 2013

The eccentric British comedian, actor, radio host, author and activist Russell Brand is a man who has gone through a very public transformation, using his establishment chops to spread an important message about economic and social justice. Recently the 39-year-old was due to give a speech before the first screening of "Russell Brand: The Second Coming," a documentary about his life. But Brand cancelled, explaining that it was too painful to look back over the earlier part of his career.

Writing on his website, Brand told fans: “Over the sprawling time period in which we’d been in production I’d transitioned from an attention-seeking missile, exploding into exhibitionism at every turn, into a man who, whilst still a show-off, was becoming disillusioned and disconnected from fame, celebrity and all its sticky ephemera.”

Up until a few years ago, Brand was better known in the UK for his laddish jokes, frank discussions of his personal fight with addiction, and one particularly unpopular phone prank. U.S. audiences mainly knew about him – if at all – as a pop star, Katy Perry's husband, and an MTV award show host.

But ever since his unexpected appointment as guest editor of the UK political magazine New Statesman in 2013, followed by a controversial appearance on UK's Newsnight show – during which he urged people not to vote and to consider “revolution" – Brand has become one of the country's prominent spokespeople on political and economic justice. When Fox News hosts decided to attack his Newsnight appearance, they all but released the genie.

“He has the intellectual capacity of a student who comes home from college at Christmas and think he's smarter than his dad,” said Fox anchor Greg Gutfeld. "[Brand] hasn't bathed for 10 years. His lice have scabies.”

Colleague Kimberly Guilfoyle chimed in, “Now he doesn't have Katy Perry so he's a nobody.” And fellow Fox commentator Eric Bolling suggested Brand's utopian revolutionary paradise might actually be America.

“Massive redistribution of wealth. Check. Taxing corporations massively. Check. Profit is a filthy word. Check," Bolling said.

So just what did Brand say in his interview with Newsnight host Jeremy Paxman – the clip has now been seen more than 10 million times – that so upset Fox? Among other things: “I’m not voting out of absolute indifference and weariness and exhaustion from the lies, treachery, deceit of the political class that has been going on for generations now and which has now reached fever pitch where you have a disenfranchised, disillusioned, despondent underclass that are not being represented by that political system, so voting for it is tacit complicity with that system and that’s not something I’m offering up.”

Asked by Paxman how his “revolution” would look, Brand responded: “I think a socialist egalitarian system based on the massive redistribution of wealth, heavy taxation of corporations, and massive responsibility for energy companies and any companies exploiting the environment.”

Brand has written three books, the latest of which, "Revolution," was published at the end of last year. His first two books focused more on his personal life while the third, which became a bestseller in the UK, served as something of an activist manifesto.

In the first chapter, Brand explains that he began writing it right after the Paxman interview. He says his vision is to “make the world work for 100 percent of humanity in the shortest possible time through spontaneous cooperation without ecological offense or the disadvantage of anyone,” while exploring philosophies from George Orwell to the economist Thomas Piketty.

Last year, Brand set up a YouTube channel, The Trews, which showcases his reactions to mainstream newspaper, television and advertising media. At the time of writing, the number of subscribers had just passed the 1 million mark. Brand mainly uses the videos to discuss big news stories and to highlight bias and hidden agendas in mainstream media.

Recent topics have included homeless people shot by the Los Angeles police, UK government reports on fracking, and media representation for those living on benefits, or social security. Brand invariably presents each episode of The Trews in an informal manner on a webcam from his bedroom or car, creating a sense of intimacy with the viewer.

Brand's use of his privileged platform to discuss inequality has been controversial, with many in the mainstream accusing him of hypocritical “champagne socialism.” Regardless of his personal story and circumstances, the ideas he is conveying are deemed solid by many. And people on both sides of the Atlantic, who might never have been exposed to his ideas of economic, social and political justice, are now listening.