Russell Brand accused of groping female classmates at performing arts college

More allegations have surfaced against Russell Brand, with a former classmate accusing him of groping female pupils during his time at Italia Conti Performing Arts School.

The Get Him to the Greek actor, 48, found himself in the press one week ago when several women accused him of rape, sexual assault, and controlling behaviour over a seven-year period at the height of his fame.

Brand has denied all allegations against him, claiming any encounters were ‘consensual’, but admitted to being ‘promiscuous’ with a sex addiction.

Following the initial investigation by Channel 4’s Dispatches and The Times, more alleged victims have spoken out, with the Metropolitan Police also receiving a report of an alleged sexual assault from 2003.

Now, Tony Brown of Brand’s old school in Central London, has said he used to grab girls underneath what Brand called his ‘cloak of love’.

Brand was expelled from the prestigious performing arts school after just one year for ‘breaching its code of conduct’, said to be related to drug-taking and truancy.

Actor Tony told The Mirror: ‘He started wearing a large black trenchcoat, which he called his cloak of love.

‘He would sneak up behind girls wrapping them in the coat, pulling them in close and touching them under it.

‘You would often see the girls flinch. He would be pinching their bums and grabbing their boobs.’

Brown, 48, started the school on the same day as Brand in 1991.

‘A couple of his favourite junior girls would have been two years below us, making them around 14. It’s hard to tell what the girls thought as I think at the time they would have put on an act in front of their friends.

‘No one wanted to be seen to be the prude and he capitalised on it, I suppose. He could manipulate any situation. It wasn’t a normal school environment. Girls probably outnumbered boys by about 20 to one.’

The dad-of-five added that, on the second or third day of class, students were instructed to ‘make love’ to a chair in the middle of a studio.

While Brown thought it was ‘bizarre’, he said Brand ‘did it with the most enthusiasm.’

Brown, who now works as a radio presenter, said ‘the way Brand talked about what he’d done with girls the night before was so disrespectful.’

‘I’ve got daughters now. I dread to think anyone would talk about them that way,’ he added.

The school said it is ‘deeply concerned’ in response to Brown’s claims.

A school spokesperson said: ‘Italia Conti takes any allegations of inappropriate behaviour extremely seriously, and we have robust policies and ­procedures to ensure that any reported matter is dealt with appropriately.’

They have urged any concerned former pupils to contact the school.

Meanwhile, Brand has spoken about his school days in the past, writing about his ‘cloak of love’ in his 2007 autobiography, My Booky Wook.

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‘Perhaps it was in seeking to cope with this sudden upturn in my sexual economy – this huge shift in the quality and quantity of available women – that I developed my cloak of love identity,’ he penned.

‘I got myself this cloak. It stretched from the top of my head to the tips of my tiny toes, like a curtain, and I used it to veil myself and my true intentions, right in it, as I stalked the corridors of Italia Conti.’

The latest claims come as Brand’s past behaviour is currently being investigated by the BBC and Channel 4 from when he worked on their shows.

His career has also taken several blows, with his tours in the UK and Australia cancelled, his YouTube channel demonetised, and having been dropped by his team.

After what he called a ‘distressing’ week’, Brand broke his silence last night (September 22) with a new video message.

In the clip, Brand said the week since the claims were published had been ‘extraordinary’.

He said: ‘I thank you very much for your support and for questioning the information that you’ve been presented with.’

Brand also promoted his platform on Rumble – a right-wing, online video platform that refused to follow YouTube in blocking the comedian from advertising revenue on its site.

The controversial podcaster described the streaming site as having made a ‘clear commitment to free speech’.

Brand added that he never imagined that he would need his followers’ support as much as he does now.

‘And I need your support now, more than ever, and more than I ever imagined I would,’ he said.

‘So, follow me, support our channel if you can, if it’s within your means, but more important than any of that is that you please, if you can, stay free.’

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