Rumble calls UK Parliament demands to demonetize Russell Brand 'deeply inappropriate and dangerous'

Rumble is refusing to follow the U.K. Parliament's demands to demonetize Russell Brand he was accused of sexual assault, calling the government's attempt to intervene with free speech on video platform as "deeply inappropriate and dangerous."

Dame Caroline Dinenage, who chairs Parliament's Culture, Media and Sport Committee, sent a letter to Rumble CEO Chris Pavlosvski on Wednesday stating: "While we recognise that Rumble is not the creator of the content published by Mr Brand, we are concerned that he may be able to profit from his content on the platform."

Brand, who has more than 1.4 million followers on Rumble, posted his response Saturday on the platform to a report from "The Sunday Times" that alleged Brand sexually assaulted four anonymous women a decade or more ago.

"The relationships I had were absolutely always consensual," Brand said in the video.

"We would be grateful if you could confirm whether Mr Brand is able to monetise his content, including his videos relating to the serious accusations against him," Dinenage also said. "We would also like to know what Rumble is doing to ensure that creators are not able to use the platform to undermine the welfare of victims of inappropriate and potentially illegal behaviour."

Rumble posted its response on X, formerly Twitter, along with a picture of the original Dinenage's original letter, which the platform called "extremely disturbing." 

"While Rumble obviously deplores sexual assault, rape, and all serious crimes, and believes that both alleged victims and the accused are entitled to a full and serious investigation, it is vital to note that recent allegations against Russell Brand have nothing to do with content on Rumble's platform," Rumble wrote. 

YouTube demonetized Brand, who has more than 6.6 million subscribers on the platform, on Tuesday, one day after U.K. police said they received a sexual assault allegation against Brand from 20 years ago.

"We regard it as deeply inappropriate and dangerous that the UK Parliament would attempt to control who is allowed to speak on our platform or to earn a living from doing so," Rumble also wrote in its response. "We don't agree with the behavior of many Rumble creators, but we refuse to penalize them for actions that have nothing to do with our platform."

Brand has been particularly active on Rumble, launching the platform's first pay-per-view special earlier this year.

Follow Madeleine Hubbard on X or Instagram.