A producer who is alleged to have laughed while Russell Brand put his head on a woman’s groin has stepped back from his role as head of comedy at the London production company behind Michaela Coel’s sexual assault drama “I May Destroy You.”
Jack Bayles, head of comedy at Various Artists Limited, was said to have been present in 2009 when Brand demanded a Channel 4 employee give him a massage during a shoot.
According to The Times, the court heard that Bayles and another member of Brand’s entourage, Gareth Roy, said the comedian would only continue working if the complainant gave him a massage. She complained to her bosses at Channel 4 the next day.
The woman’s workplace manager, who gave evidence during the trial, said the victim had complained to her how she was told several times to “just do it” by Bayles and Roy.
During the incident Brand also put his head in the woman’s groin area. In a statement to the court, the manager said she was told the men “were both there the whole time and watched and laughed while Mr Brand sexually assaulted her right in front of them,” according to The Times.
Brand was found guilty of sexually assaulting the Channel 4 employee on Thursday along with two other counts of sexual assault and one count of rape.
Following the verdict, a rep for VAL said: “We have asked Jack Bayles to step back from the company whilst we consider the verdict and events surrounding the trial. Our thoughts, though, are primarily with every one of Brand’s victims at this time.”
Bayles joined VAL, which was founded in 2017 by Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong, four years ago as head of comedy where he was responsible for overseeing the company’s comedy slate and developing new projects. He previously produced “Catastrophe” with Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney and was appointed Channel 4 commissioning editor in 2017.
In a statement, the producer told The Times: “I am appalled and sickened by Brand’s actions and have co-operated fully and voluntarily with the investigation and endeavoured to assist as best I can. However, I do not remember the incident that took place 17 years ago in 2009. But I acknowledge that I clearly missed something at the time and did not see nor recognise that it caused distress. For that I am sincerely sorry.
“At the time of the offence, I was in the early stages of my career, and it was a frantic, pressured and toxic working environment. Brand was chaotic, dismissive and manipulated the people around him. It was due to that, that I made the decision to stop working with him in 2010 and have not had any contact with him since. During my time working with Brand no complaints were made to me about his behaviour, and I am unaware if any were raised to anyone else more senior to me.”
“I would never willingly or proactively wish to make anyone feel uncomfortable, unsafe or unsupported at work. If I was ever present when Brand acted inappropriately and I failed to spot it and step in, then I sincerely apologise.”