Russell Brand slammed for sharing ways to avoid Covid safety measures

British comedian Russell Brand has been slammed for sharing advice on how people can avoid Covid safety measures in order to attend his stand-up tour.

UK comedian Russell Brand has found himself in hot water after sharing advice on ways to avoid Covid-19 vaccinations and testing in order to attend his latest tour.

The 46-year-old, who is currently embarking on his The 33 Tour across the UK, took to social media to address “misunderstandings” in regards to certain venue requirements.

He included – and subsequently addressed – three leading concerns, writing:

– NO venue requires you to be double vaccinated.

– Most venues do not ask for any certification. Some require proof of a negative test.

– If you have tickets to a venue that requires a PCR test and do not want to take one, please email [e-mail] and we will swap your tickets for venues that have no requirements for entry.

Russell Brand has come under fire for sharing the advice. Picture: Carl Court/Getty Images

The post has attracted a wave of backlash, with many dubbing Brand “irresponsible” for touting ways to avoid measures to stop the spread of Covid in the UK, which recorded a seven-day average of more than 31,000 daily cases this week.

“I’m going to unfollow now. It’s feeling like RB is getting a cult leader complex. Encouraging pandemic anti-vaxxers is a line in the sand for me,” one user wrote.

Another echoed the sentiment, writing: “This is such a joke. You were already teetering on the edge of irrelevancy. I just hope for you and your lawyers sake that nobody dies as a result of this tour.”

“This is a weird position to take. Pretty irresponsible not to encourage at least testing before large gatherings,” another comment read among thousands.

So you want your fans to spread Covid and maybe kill people instead of requiring minor safety measures?

— Mary Turner, MD (she/her) (@MaryTurnerPDX) September 16, 2021

So are you actively TRYING to create a super spreader event here or what lol pic.twitter.com/c3f9BY0jGb

— RemyJer on Twitch / YouTube (@ItsRemyJer) September 16, 2021

This is disappointing. There's no reason not to at least require a negative test. You have a platform from which you could advocate for public health and encourage people to protect one another and the more vulnerable in our society. This does the opposite.

— Hannah Siden (@hannah_siden) September 16, 2021

Worryingly, Brand’s post also attracted a swarm of supporters who dubbed him “Jesus” and “the voice of reason”.

“Well done Russell, someone with some sense is appreciated,” one diehard fan wrote.

“Thank you for being a supporter of freedom and personal choice!,’ another added. “So happy that someone amazing like you exist (sic) in this life,” a third said.

The stand-up comedian, who was formerly married to US pop star Katy Perry, began his tour in August, with dates running through until early December.

Brand was in Australia for a tour during the early stages of the global pandemic, where he was forced to cancel his Perth show after a positive case emerged in the local community in early March, 2020.

At the time, he said: “We have to SADLY CANCEL TONIGHT’S SHOW IN #PERTH because there has been a CONFIRMED CASE OF CORONAVIRUS in someone who attended a recent show and I am not happy with risk for me or for any of you.”