Katharine McPhee has spoken out about an ‘incident’ involving Russell Brand that happened more than a decade ago when the pair both appeared on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.
Watch the clip below:
Comedian Brand, 48, has been accused of rape and sexual assault by several women as part of a joint investigation by Channel 4’s Dispatches and British newspapers The Times and The Sunday Times.
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The women have made allegations against Brand pertaining to a period between 2006 and 2013, whilst he was employed by the BBC, Channel 4, and acting in Hollywood films such as Get Him to the Greek.
In the wake of the Channel 4 documentary and accompanying article, which both surfaced at the weekend, examples of Brand’s behaviour during previous television appearances have been circulating online.
This includes a 2013 interview on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, when he was joined in the studio by singer Katharine McPhee.
After Brand had spoken to Fallon for his segment of the show, his co-guest appeared on stage to take the seat for her own interview.
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However, as she came closer, he refused to move – instead pulling her onto his lap and bouncing her up and down on his knee.
A brief synopsis for the clip on YouTube says: “Not knowing she is married, Russell Brand isn't shy about his infatuation with Katharine, who is trying to tell Jimmy about her Super Bowl experience.”
Indeed, when Brand grabbed McPhee’s hand to let her sit on his seat with him, he told host Jimmy Fallon: "She’s welcome to sit here.”
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Fallon then said: “No Russell, don't even say for the queen, you can't.”
Brand shouted: “For the queen!” bouncing her on his lap before she leapt up.
As she stepped away, he told her: “You’re beautiful.”
Fallon told him to ‘stop’ and ‘look away’, as Brand joked: “I'll just sit here with my sexual charisma.”
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Brand later quipped: “As you know, I've announced it, I find Katharine very attractive and I think when she said 'exchange numbers,' I thought things I'd like to exchange with her... Numbers. Genes. Genetic info. Data.”
He eventually found out that McPhee was, at the time, married to actor Nick Cokas.
“I didn't know you were married,” he said.
“I'm going to f**k off now.”
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But it turns out McPhee felt the exchange was completely ‘harmless’, having spoken out about the resurfaced clip on social media.
McPhee – who has a son with second husband David Foster – commented on a post about the video shared by the Daily Mail.
She wrote: “Daily Mail – I know nothing what you are trying to claim here but this specific incident was over 10 years ago and it was harmless.
“Please don’t try and use me for whatever purpose you are trying to serve.”
Brand has denied the allegations from The Sunday Times and Dispatches.
Accusing the media of planning a coordinated attack against him in a pre-emptive YouTube video, he said: "Amidst this litany of astonishing, rather baroque attacks are some very serious allegations that I absolutely refute.”
Topics: Celebrity, Russell Brand, Film and TV, Jimmy Fallon
Jess Hardiman