Russell Brand Sparks Debate With Bold Media Take

Russell Brand has started another fiery debate with modern media, with a recent tweet from the controversial comedian-turned-commentator now putting the media in the metaphor of an endless game of whack-a-mole: every attempt to silence one voice simply encourages many more. His suggestion is that you cannot suppress the view.

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“Joe Rogan gets silenced, bang, there’s Candace Owens. Candace Owens is gone, Ian Carroll comes in. Ian Carroll’s gone, you’ve got me. Bring me down, and here comes Lex Fridman,” wrote Brand on social media. Within a few hours, that post attracted thousands of interactions, proving outright that Brand knows how to grease the wheels.

The responses were now faster than the free flow of drinks at one of Brand’s old Hollywood parties. Some well-wishers cheered it like Danocracy: “People want truth and transparency…fed up with elites.” Others? Quite the opposite: DJ ADDICTION came back with “HAHA! STFU you rapist grifting clown!” Ouch. Sexual assault allegations against Brand evidently follow him online.

An interesting discussion arose around the inclusion of podcaster Lex Fridman on Brand’s list. It seemed as if many commenters would think it odd to pair those two together, with Jin Rubio texting “Russell, Lex does not belong on that list.” Vince Lauro was more direct: “Lex Fridman? thats a weird one to throw in there.” Meanwhile Bill Pharoah took it in an anti-Semitic direction, asking, “Lex Jewman? No thanks” – classy.

Brand’s opposers came with the evidence in hands. Mad Cyril justified, saying: “You’re a dirty horrible bastard that deserves to be locked up!…Brand sent a taxi to pick up a 16 year old girl from school when he was in his 30s.” Others just mocked him on his relevance, such as DX559, who chipped in, “You’re as important as Rob Schneider except he doesn’t have sex crime charges.” Damn.

And the most insane replies were coming from truly conspiracy enthusiasts. “All roads link back to Israel,” claimed Idris baz, while Syrian Sid dragged the extended metaphor even further: “Take out lex Luther then there is Mohammed Hijab…then there is that man with ginger beard.” Because there always be a man with ginger beard waiting right?

The post even sparked a little bit of philosophizing. “They can’t silence me, there are too many angels and warriors,” Justin Harris Fonseca scrawled beside what seemed to be a medieval painting. The 15th-century religious art doesn’t get more modern than this media discourse.

The transformation of Brand from party-boy comedian to political commentator is perplexingly frustrating in equal measure. His tweet shows that he can still generate attention in that at least half of the replies discredited him as a fraud. Conversations about media control seemed to strike a nerve; now, whether Brand is in on it or simply another grifter, that is still being hotly contested.

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Whatever they judge of him, however, one fact is certain: Russell Brand still features heavily in tabloids. In today’s measure of attention’s economy, that’s possibly the only metric that counts. His replies confirm his case while roasting him-the discourse becomes ever wider, voices multiply, and the mute button can’t be pressed.