Russell Brand is the latest target of the 15 minutes of hate. The entertainer and podcast host was accused of sexual misconduct by British media last week. The claims are several years old and many of them lack any substantiation besides the word of the accuser.

USA Today:

Comedian, actor and social influencer Russell Brand is being accused of − and denying − rape, sexual assault and abuse based on allegations from four women who knew him over a seven-year period at the height of his fame.

In a report published Sept. 16, The Sunday Times, The Times of London and Channel 4’s “Dispatches” revealed the accusations, which included one woman alleging Brand raped her, while three others accused him of sexual assault.

Brand denied the allegations, maintaining all of his relationships have been consensual.

London’s Metropolitan Police announced Monday that they have opened a sex crimes investigation into Brand.

But that was enough to indict Brand in the public eye.

Since the accusations aired, Brand’s popular YouTube channel was demonetized, BBC deleted his program appearances, his talent agency dropped him, and his book publisher cancelled his latest title. Some British lawmakers called on law enforcement in the UK  and US to press charges against the Brand. London Police are currently investigating at least one of the allegations.

The actor strenuously denies those claims, but he’s already been tried and convicted in the mainstream media. His guilt or innocence in court doesn’t matter–the media says he’s a rapist. That rep will stick to him for the rest of his life.

Brand is the latest example of how leftists weaponize MeToo allegations against their enemies. The Get Him to the Greek star became the focus of this media investigation in 2019. By that time, he had established himself as someone outside of the normal confines of the Left. He continued to demonstrate his lack of deference to liberal orthodoxy over the last few years. He criticized the globalists’ war in Ukraine, questioned the COVID vaccine, attacked draconian COVID restrictions, and enthusiastically supported Tucker Carlson. The Left once loved Brand. Now he’s a traitor to them.

Several British media outlets lamented how they had “lost” Brand to the Right prior to the rape allegations. The Guardian argued in March that Brand helps “fascism” with his “conspiracy” content:

[C]onspiracism is fascism’s fuel. Almost all successful conspiracy theories originate with or land with the far right. I’m not suggesting for one minute that Brand is sympathetic to fascism, but his videos are likely to assist its spread. As for his own politics, while he claims to have transcended left and right, I see a clear rightward shift. He concentrates his fire on centrists – Biden, Pelosi, Hillary Clinton, Trudeau – while appearing to support Trump. He extols Trump’s “virility”, which he contrasts with “Biden’s senility”.

These same outlets now gleefully cheer on Brand’s demise at the hands of MeToo accusations. The alleged victims in the story said they came forward due to Brand’s new reputation, not because they suddenly decided what he did was wrong.

MeToo is one of the Left’s most powerful weapons–and no one is safe from it. Conservatives initially cheered on MeToo as a way to bring down powerful liberals. While early targets included Hollywood bigwigs and a few elected Democrats, MeToo has proven more potent against the Right.

Brett Kavanaugh proved this. Liberals almost derailed his Supreme Court nomination with the most spurious rape allegations imaginable. None of Kavanaugh’s three accusers had any corroborating evidence. One admitted she made up the whole story. Yet, all three stories were taken as truth in the media and journalists convicted Kavanaugh of rape in their coverage. Despite the accusers’ claims quickly falling apart, the justice still suffers the reputation of being a “credibly accused rapist.”

And none of the three accusers faced consequences for their false claims–not even the one who admitted she made it up. The press still treats Kavanaugh’s primary accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, with absolute reverence. Ford is set to publish a memoir next year. It’s guaranteed the media will fall over themselves to positively review and, once again, smear Kavanaugh as a rapist. The false rape allegation is still true, according to journalists.

Congressman Matt Gaetz recently faced his own #MeToo ordeal. He was accused of being involved in the sex trafficking of a minor in 2021. The media rushed to declare Gaetz a rapist and a pedophile in this case. After a thorough investigation, the Department of Justice didn’t even file charges against the Florida congressman. But the allegations had their effect and Gaetz is forever tarnished by the media’s verdict.

Gaetz was an obvious target for these allegations. He was one of the most effective America Firsters in office. He rails against the deep state, the forever wars, open borders, and the GOP establishment complicity in all this. The sex trafficking allegation was promoted to take him out. It failed, but it still demonstrated the damage of just one accusation.

READ: The New York Times Goes Full-Blown “East German Stasi” to Destroy Matt Gaetz

The media is now trying to deploy this same tactic against the people behind the blockbuster hit Sound of Freedom. The movie is based on the real-life story of Tim Ballard and his efforts to save kids from sex traffickers. Its popularity among conservatives made it anathema to liberals. They wanted to discredit the film and the people behind it. So they dredged up sexual misconduct allegations.

The press ran wild over allegations Ballard acted inappropriately around female co-workers. Press coverage claims the former Homeland Security agent resigned from his child rescue group over the harassment claims. Ballard is weighing a Senate run in Utah to replace Mitt Romney, making him a bigger target for the Left.

In addition to the allegations, the media accused one of the film’s producers of groping one of the children Ballard rescued.

The far-left Vice is behind these allegations. The outlet has been on a crusade against the film ever since it came out. Vice tried to discredit Operation Underground Railroad, the rescue group that inspired Sound of Freedom, back in July. When that failed, they went with MeToo allegations.

Ballard is a prized target since he’s now a hero to many conservatives. The Left would love nothing more than to bring him down.

Ballard understands the purpose behind these reports. “They are baseless inventions designed to destroy me and the movement we have built to end the trafficking and exploitation of vulnerable children,” he said in a press statement.

That’s absolutely true why the press is so eager to convict Ballard of misconduct. Journalists don’t care about the truth or finding “justice” for the alleged victims–they just want to destroy the designated enemy.

The media’s interest in these allegations have nothing to do with educating the public about the dangers of rape. If the media was concerned with this, they would devote wall-to-wall coverage of Pakistani grooming gangs, migrants raping children at German pools, and the horrific sex trafficking at the border. Instead, they focus on Russell Brand, Brett Kavanaugh, Matt Gaetz, and Tim Ballard. Brand is far less of a threat to society than Britain’s grooming gangs.

Any public figure can easily be MeToo’d. A years-old claim can be trumped up to harm the media’s target. Once the accusation is made, the accused is guilty in the media. Even if the claims are discredited–such as in Kavanaugh’s case–the allegations will stick for all time.

Journalists are making the most of the Brand allegation. They successfully bullied YouTube into demonetizing him, but failed to get him banned. British lawmakers are directly urging TikTok and other platforms to remove him as well. That demand exposes the game here. They want Brand shut down for his politically incorrect views–the allegations merely provide the ammo to do so.

Americans are right to be skeptical of these allegations. We’ve seen this story play out time and time again in the press. Duke lacrosse, Rolling Stone’s “A Rape on Campus” hoax, and numerous other tales demonstrate the media’s disregard for the truth. It’s far better to wait for all the facts to come in before rushing to judgment. Just because journalists claim guilt doesn’t mean everyone else should follow suit. Journalists shouldn’t be our judge and jury here.

Regardless of whether Brand is innocent or guilty, his story shows the intensification of MeToo allegations. A media outlet with enough time and resources can dredge up any story of misconduct and ruin a man’s life over it. The Times spent four years and untold amounts of money to find a few women willing to accuse Brand of assault. That’s how committed the press is to character assassination.

And journalists know the easiest way to destroy a reputation is to raise the specter of rape–no corroboration required.