The Brits escape censure over Brand's rude jokes

11 April 2012
The Weekender

Sign up to our free weekly newsletter for exclusive competitions, offers and theatre ticket deals

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

The Brits have escaped censure by media watchdog Ofcom over jokes made by TV host Russell Brand.

Brand's comments about the Queen, drugs, Robbie Williams, Iraq, and intimate parts of the body, broadcast on ITV1, sparked 262 complaints.

Scroll down for more

Rude Russell: TV host Brand's comments about the Queen, drugs, Robbie Williams, Iraq, and intimate parts of the body, broadcast on ITV1, sparked 262 complaints

Rude Russell: TV host Brand's comments about the Queen, drugs, Robbie Williams, Iraq, and intimate parts of the body, broadcast on ITV1, sparked 262 complaints

The comic, 31, joked about allegations that Conservative Party leader David Cameron took drugs as a teenager.

He added: "Who among us didn't smoke just a little bit of weed at school, just to take the edge off those irksome crack come-downs?"

But then Brand commented that the Cameron story was "as good an anti-drugs campaign as you're going to get", adding "don't take drugs you might end up leader of the Tories with a face like a little painted egg".

Viewers also complained about the flamboyant TV host's comment that it was time to find out "who has pierced the hymen of awareness to ejaculate success into the uterus of popular culture".

ITV, which began broadcasting The Brits at 8pm, before the watershed, with a 30-second delay, said most of its viewers would expect Brand to be "edgy" and "provocative".

The broadcaster said his comments did not glamorise, condone, or encourage drug abuse.

Ofcom said the sexual references and comments about drugs would not have been understood by young children.

The comments were made in a "tongue-in-cheek" style expected at a music awards ceremony broadcast after 8pm, it said.

Ofcom added: "Importantly, the overall context of the comments made by the presenter was not that drugs were acceptable.

"We understand that some viewers found the comments offensive, but on balance Ofcom has concluded there was no breach of the (broadcasting) Code."

The watchdog did not investigate the star's other comments, saying they were justified at a rock and pop event.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in