Farage Attacked Labour Over Brand — Nine Months After Appearing on Brand's Own Podcast

Reform UK leader appeared on Russell Brand's show in July 2024, months after police investigated Brand for sexual assault. He now criticises Labour for 'cosying up' to Brand a decade ago.

Nigel Farage appeared as a guest on Russell Brand's US-based online show in July 2024 — nine months after the Metropolitan Police interviewed Brand under caution over sexual assault allegations, and after Farage himself had publicly commented on those allegations on GB News. The episode featured Farage, Dan Bongino, and Charlie Kirk laughing with Brand about shared anti-establishment politics and discussing Ukraine. The sexual assault allegations were never mentioned.

The timeline is the story. In September 2023, a joint Sunday Times, Times, and Channel 4 investigation published multiple women's allegations of sexual assault against Brand. Farage went on GB News that same month, acknowledged the allegations, said he would not 'prejudge' Brand, and noted that Brand had 'upset big government' and powerful figures like Bill Gates — framing the accusations within an anti-establishment narrative. Then, with full knowledge of the police investigation, he sat down for a friendly podcast appearance months later. Since Brand's conviction this week — sentenced to more than 10 years for rape and sexual assault — Farage has pivoted sharply. He told Australia's News 24 the case was 'very difficult' because it involved old allegations and no 'hard evidence,' while simultaneously saying he believed Jemima Goldsmith's account of Brand being 'violent and abusive' and that 'the judicial system has proved to have actually worked.' He then criticised Labour for failing to apologise for promoting Brand a decade ago. A Farage spokesperson said he 'regrets his appearance on the show' and that 'his thoughts are with the victims.' Reform sources described the podcast as unplanned — claiming Farage was 'pulled into the room' during a US visit. The distinction between a planned booking and an impromptu sit-down on a show hosted by a man under police investigation for sexual assault is, at best, cosmetic. This pattern is not isolated. Farage was photographed with Andrew Tate in 2019. On a February 2024 podcast, Farage praised Tate for defending 'male culture' while conceding Tate had said 'pretty horrible' things. Tate was charged with rape and human trafficking in 2023; the UK is now seeking his extradition from the US. When asked about both associations, Farage reframed the question as one of generational politics: 'There's an awakening in a younger generation who have had enough of being dictated to.' The structural play here is consistent: associate with controversial male figures who attract young male audiences, frame any scrutiny as establishment overreach, then express regret only after convictions land. The attack on Labour for associations a decade old while maintaining his own associations months before a conviction is a textbook case of selective accountability deployed as political weapon. What Farage is selling is not a policy position but an accountability asymmetry — the rules apply to opponents, never to the salesman. The question is whether voters notice the dates.