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English television personality Michael Barrymore has recently come under fire for extending his support to Russell Brand, who is facing multiple allegations of r*pe and s*xual assault by four women.
Disclaimer: This article contains references to s*xual assault. Readers' Discretion is advised.
After Russell Brand denied the accusations against him in a video posted on his main channel on YouTube on September 16, several other public figures, including Andrew Tate, Elon Musk, and Laurence Fox, seemed to have backed the 48-year-old English comedian.
In the video, Russell Brand claimed that he used to lead a promiscuous life in the past, and all the relationships he had during that time were “always consensual”. He called the allegations a series of extravagant and coordinated attacks that might be driven by some hidden agenda.
Russell Brand claimed that the allegations were made to “control his voice” since he was marked as a “conspiracy theorist” by many for speaking about controversial subjects on his YouTube channels.
Michael Barrymore reshared the comedian’s video shared on X and seemed to share Brand's sentiments, as evidenced by his caption:
“This is what they do.”
Netizens mention Stuart Lubbock's death as Michael Barrymore seemingly defends Russell Brand
Michael Barrymore, 71, has not publicly spoken on the matter of Russell Brand and his allegations since posting the tweet. However, netizens have now brought up the mysterious and harrowing death of Stuart Lubbock, an incident that led to the downward spiral of Michael’s career as a TV presenter.
On March 31, 2001, 31-year-old Stuard Lubbock, a wholesale meat factory supervisor from Essex was found unconscious in Michael Barrymore’s swimming pool. Including the TV presenter, two other witnesses who were gathered at Michael's home that night for a party had claimed to have come across a motionless Stuart in the pool.
The 31-year-old was later pronounced dead at Harlow’s Princess Alexandra Hospital on the same day. In an autopsy, pathologists found traces of alcohol and drugs in Stuart Lubbock’s system along with severe an*l injuries. Several experts, including Nathaniel Cary, a senior Home Office pathologist later agreed that the injuries were consistent with that of a s*xual assault.
Following Stuart’s death, several newspapers suggested that Michael Barrymore held drug-fueled s*xual activities in his home involving multiple people at once. One witness, Kylie Merritt, who was reportedly present at the party on the night of Stuart’s death stated that Michael Barrymore was seen rubbing some cocaine onto Stuart’s gums that night, as per The Guardian.
Barrymore, however, denied the allegation along with the speculations that he had something to do with Stuart Lubbock’s death.
Though the truth behind Stuart's death remains cloudy even after years of investigation, Michael's public image has continued to be negative.
In the wake of allegations against Russell Brand, the Lubbock incident began trending online once more and Michael Barrymore came under public criticism once more due to seemingly speaking in defense of Russell.
Barrymore is yet to address the resurfaced accusations against him pertaining to Stuart Lubbock's death.
