Russell Brand made a joke about consent while speaking at a Make America Healthy Again summit, a gathering closely allied with US health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, just weeks before he was sentenced to ten years and six months in jail for rape and sexual assault. Brand was welcomed warmly by the hosts and criticised vaccine mandates, junk food and pharmaceutical companies. Before he took the stage, TV presenter and physician Dr Oz said Brand had been backstage hugging the secretary of agriculture, and Brand responded with a joke: 'She initiated that contact, I should make clear doctor,' which drew laughs from the audience.

Brand is described as a close ally of Kennedy, who attended the September summit alongside Vice President JD Vance. The 51-year-old was photographed with several senior US cabinet members, including Vance, Kennedy and Donald Trump Jr. After moving to America, Brand reportedly built a new life, embracing Christianity and becoming part of Trump's circle of wealthy, famous friends. He lived with his family in a £1.9 million bungalow in Florida's Santa Rosa Beach and was given a 'Global Defender of Freedom' award at a black-tie gala in the ballroom at Mar-a-Lago after attending Trump's inauguration.S2

Following his conviction last week of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault, Brand was taken to HMP Wandsworth and placed in the Care and Separation Unit. He was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court to ten years and six months, and will serve two-thirds of that term, equating to seven years. As a prison van believed to be carrying him arrived at the category B prison in south-west London, a woman was heard shouting 'justice for women!' and later 'rot in hell!'S2