Get RNS’ thoughtful, essential religion reporting every morning. Sign up for free!
(RNS) — Not all sexual predators hide.
Some are right there in plain sight, yukking it up, bragging, doing interviews, and even publishing books about their violent and degrading behavior toward women. And some — like comedian Russell Brand — are applauded, admired and rocketing into fame as a result of their brazenness.
Indeed, as The Guardian reports, Brand earned the title “shagger of the year” three times in a row from one British publication. He also published a memoir in which he described his predatory behavior and “told jokes about how he liked to watch women choking during oral sex.” All this simply advanced his celebrity status rather than impeding it.
The criminal investigation into Brand began three years ago, culminating in a two-month long trial that ended Nov. 5 with rape and assault convictions related to four different women in four separate incidents (six women made allegations).
Russell Brand, as it turns out, is who he told us he was.
In the middle of Brand’s legal woes — in April 2024, less than a year after the start of the criminal investigation — he found Jesus, he says. He was baptized in the River Thames, and his announcement on X the next day went viral. Everybody loves a good conversion story (as I write in my book The Evangelical Imagination) — the more dramatic the change, the better.
Quickly after Brand’s announcement that he had found faith came a steady stream of “Christian” content on his social media channels. Even in the midst of the trial, Brand was sharing videos of prayers and testimonies in a “Sunday Service” series filmed with his wife, who has stood by her man throughout the prosecution and trial.
Celebrity conversions are nothing if not profitable.
Associations with celebrity converts are also profitable, a temptation some find hard to resist.
Following Brand’s baptism, Catholic Bishop Robert Barron, founder of Word on Fire Ministries, was featured on Brand’s YouTube, racking up tens of thousands of views. Carl Lentz — former lead pastor of Hillsong Church NYC who was fired from that role after confessing to adultery and is now on his own redemption tour with his wife to promote their book “Overcoming Infidelity” — also interviewed Brand in a subscriber-only program in which Brand talks about “how faith has transformed his life.”
Just last year, Tullian Tchividjian, a pastor and Christian author who is accused of engaging in clergy sexual misconduct against several women (and is also the grandson of Billy Graham), hosted Brand for a conversation at his church. In his description of the conversation, Tchividijian praised Brand effusively — to great audience applause — calling Brand “refreshing,” “smart,” and ”innocent and fresh.”
On Oct 14, the day Brand’s trial started, Brand featured Gabe Lyons, a longtime Christian leader and speaker, and founder of THINQ media (formerly Q Talks, where I once spoke). Lyons posted an Instagram reel, all smiles as he joined Brand in his studio for the recording, complete with a bro handshake and hug. The reel, also posted on Oct 14, was still on Lyons’ feed as of this publication, a day after Brand’s conviction.
Each of these appearances by Christian leaders, it must be emphasized, was after the criminal investigation into Brand was made public. So too were some of the accusations public, long before Brand’s baptism. The accusations were deeply disturbing.
The words of one senior prosecutor in Brand’s case are damning: “Russell Brand was predatory and used his celebrity status to commit sexual crimes.” He used that celebrity status, and tragically, Christian celebrities ignored their status as Christians in order to choose association over care.
Of course, in a court of law, an accused person is presumed innocent until proven guilty. So how should Christians — and more importantly Christian leaders — treat people who are accused of such heinous acts?
Despite the presumption of innocence before the law, there are facts and realities that must be considered.
Lori Anne Thompson is an abuse survivor. Her accusations against the late global evangelist Ravi Zacharias went largely unbelieved until multiple other victims came forward following Zacharias’ death, along with corresponding records and testimonies. Thompson told me research indicates “that incident rates of false allegations of sexual abuse range between 2 and 10%, which means that approximately 90 to 98% of individuals who have abuse allegations against them are most likely guilty until proven otherwise.”
Moreover, one famous study finds that “93% of sex offenders describe themselves as ‘religious’ and that this category of offender may be the most dangerous.” Thus, Christians have a particular obligation to proceed with caution concerning those accused of sexual abuse in particular, even absent a finding in a court of law. Indeed, we don’t have to wait for irrefutable proof to act responsibly as Christians. As Thompson says, “Lending power, platform, prestige, presence and professionalism to a would-be predator is an overconfident and a uninformed risk.”
Christian love is marked by patience and humility, not overconfidence or unwise risk. Neither love nor truth requires sharing a celebrity stage to peddle the gospel alongside trinkets and club memberships.
I can speak personally to some of these complexities. While far from being a celebrity, I am a Christian who has books to sell. I know what it is to have an opportunity and to choose between sales and integrity. The biggest platform I was ever offered to talk about my books was by someone whose words and actions have harmed people. I turned that invitation down, and it came at a personal and professional cost. I know I’ve made choices about platforms, which, in hindsight, I’d make differently now — because these decisions, while not always simple or easy, matter.
What matters even more than what hangs in the balance between a guilty verdict and a not-guilty verdict are the bodies and souls of the victims, even when they are still alleged victims.
“Standing in public defense of a powerful accused man means leaving his defenseless victims stooping alone,” Thompson told me. “Christ lent his power to the powerless, not the powerful. We would do justice if we did likewise.”
Another survivor of sexual assault (in full disclosure, she is a personal friend), Kristie Wahlquist, shared this observation on Threads today:
Russell Brand has been found guilty of rape and sexual assault. He faces significant prison time. His powerful backers rushed to defend him, dismissed the allegations, and discredited the women. Will any of them apologize now or will they continue to prove that protecting powerful men matters more to them than believing women? Believe women. Take their allegations seriously. Stop valuing a powerful man’s reputation over a woman’s credibility.
In Brand’s case, we don’t even have to believe the women. We could have just believed him. After undergoing treatment for sex addiction and making a list of his victims, Brand wrote in a second memoir, “If this is what I’m telling you, can you imagine what’s being left out?”