Why was Russell Brand dropped from Comedy Central’s Roast Battle? Katherine Ryan’s “predator” allegation against the comedian explored

Russell Brand came under fire from all sides after he was accused of r*pe, SA, and emotional assault by four women. The allegations, put out on Saturday, September 16, resulted from a joint investigation by Channel 4, The Times, and The Sunday Times. Before the allegations were revealed, Brand uploaded a YouTube video in which he vehemently denied all accusations.

Now, a resurfaced clip from a Louis Theroux interview with comedian Katherine Ryan from 2022 showcases the Canadian comedian talk about a s*xual predator she had worked with. She called Brand a predator on the show, but the part was edited out for television. It is reported that the show was the 2018 season of Roast Battle and that the celebrity was Russell Brand.

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"I informed him to his face that he was a predator": Canadian comedian Katherine Ryan reportedly called out Russell Brand

In a resurfaced section of Louis Theroux's interview with Canadian comedian Katherine Ryan, it is being assumed that the female comic called out Russell Brand way before any major accusations started coming his way. She told Theroux in the 2022 interview that she had confronted the person on camera in front of everybody.

"I informed him to his face that he was a predator. Lots of people have tried to nail this person down for their alleged crimes," she said.

"But this person I believe very strongly, so do a lot of people believe, very strongly is an open secret, is a perpetrator of s*xual assault and I in front of loads of people, in the format of the show, said to this person's face that they were a predator."

Katherine told Theroux she had done so a lot of times, but the parts where she called out the alleged predator never made the final cut. She had earlier told Sara Pascoe in an episode of Backstage With Katherine Ryan that she had done a show with someone they believed was a predator but did not know what she was supposed to do as she had no proof.

A Deadline report claims that the show being referred to by Ryan is the 2018 season of Comedy Central's Roast Battle, a show where celebrities "engage in a battle of verbal onslaughts" against each other. In 2018, the show featured Katherine Ryan and Russell Brand as the judges, but Brand was replaced with Jonathan Ross after just the first season.

Three sources obtained by Deadline confirmed that Ryan was talking about Brand. They told the outlet that Ryan accused Brand of assault multiple times in front of the cameras, but none made it to the final edit. The outlet stated that Brand was furious at being called out and demanded that the producers take action to protect him from such serious accusations.

Showrunners Fulwell 73 were weary of bringing Brand back due to his roast reluctance and the rumors surrounding him. This was the last time Russell Brand appeared in a major British television program, apart from The Great Celebrity Bake Off, broadcast by Channel 4, which took place in the same year. One source told Deadline:

"In the end, it came down to the fact that it seemed like Russell didn’t have a good sense of humor. He didn’t feel he was fair game."

Katherine Ryan has not personally confirmed that the comedian she was talking about was indeed Russell Brand. On the other hand, Brand made his first public appearance after the allegations at the Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre for a comedy gig and even received a standing ovation.