Ben Shapiro, co-founder of The Daily Wire, expressed concern about the media’s recent scrutiny of Russell Brand. Shapiro finds the timing peculiar, especially given that Brand has already admitted that all his relationships during his “promiscuous” phase, the most successful period of his career on stage and in Hollywood, were consensual.
In an op-ed, Shapiro wrote that he can’t attest to Brand’s character; however, he thinks Brand is a “good person.”
“Here’s my problem with this particular attack on Brand from the media: the timing. While he was flagrantly promiscuous and incredibly vile when he spoke publicly about sex and women, the media were championing him,” Shapiro wrote. “He was a hero of the Left when he engaged in that behavior. He was treated as some person to emulate; he was being treated as a public celebrity.”
Shapiro questioned why the media is interested in stories that have lingered for over a decade. He said Brand’s shifting political stance may have played a pivotal role. If he had maintained his alignment with prevailing political views, the media would have focused on him differently.
“People like me have been pointing it out, and we’ve been considered prudes for doing so. It’s fine in Hollywood until some point, and then suddenly it’s not,” said Ben Shapiro. “Bill Clinton did the same thing, and the media dismissed it. Why wasn’t it relevant then? Because the men were on the same side as the Left with their other values.”
He added that this pattern of selective targeting is not isolated to Russell Brand. We’ve seen similar instances with figures like Joe Rogan and Elon Musk, whose shifts in political perspectives led to media scrutiny.
