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Among the charming farmers markets, vegetable stands and WASP-y beach clubs of Shelter island, there will be a somewhat unlikely visitor this weekend, we’re told.
Russell Brand – who has recently pleaded not-guilty to no fewer than three rape changes, plus a handful of sexual assault accusations, in the UK — is a “headliner” at a conference at the island’s quaint Ram’s Head Inn.
The troubled star is among several speakers at the New York stop of the United We Stand tour, a speaking tour arranged by electoral reform foundation, Free and Equal.
But his legal struggles are serious business.
In April 2025 British police charged the “Get Him To The Greek” star with rape and sexual assault following an 18-month investigation.
Cops said Brand faces one count of rape, one of indecent assault, one of oral rape and two of sexual assault stemming from alleged interactions with four women between 1999 and 2005.
He responded to those charges by saying online at the time, “I’ve never engaged in non-consensual activity. I pray that you can see that by looking in my eyes.”
Then in December he was charged with — and against pleaded not guilty to — two more charges of rape related to two additional women.
The Shelter Island event — whose promotional materials for the event feature a huge picture of the former comic — announces Brand as an “author, broadcaster and independent voice, headlining the Shelter Island Conference… in open conversation on capital, sovereignty, and self-governance.”
Reached for comment on the striking choice of headliner, Free and Equal’s founder, Christina Tobin, noted that Brand is “innocent until proven guilty” and that he is one of two headliners. (The other is the fiscal responsibility advocate known as Joe From Texas).
Meanwhile, the hotel’s management seemed to suggest Brand’s inclusion bolstered the diversity of voices in the lineup.
Others on the bill include Ron Paul, Sheriff Mack, Michael Terpin, Patrick Byrne, Joby Weeks, David Walker.
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