Elon Musk doubled down on his support for Russell Brand with a one-word post as the comedian faces prison time for rape and sexual assault.
Musk, 53, wrote “Unjust” on X on November 9 in reply to a post about Brand’s upcoming sentencing hearing, according to screen captures of the exchange. The Tesla CEO offered no elaboration beyond the single word.
The reply came just four days after a London jury found Brand, 49, guilty of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault spanning 2004 to 2009. He was acquitted on three additional charges. The verdict followed a criminal trial at London’s Southwark Crown Court that laid out a pattern of attacks on women during the height of his television and stand-up career.
Musk’s brief comment revived scrutiny of a September 17, 2023 tweet that surged back into circulation after the guilty verdict. “I support Russell Brand. That man is not evil,” Musk wrote on X at that time, posting just two days after The Sunday Times, The Times, and Channel 4’s Dispatches published coordinated investigations featuring allegations from four women. Brand had responded to those initial reports with a video posted September 15, 2023, in which he acknowledged his past behavior while denying any criminality. “During that time of promiscuity, the relationships that I had were absolutely, always consensual,” he claimed in the clip.
The jury rejected that framing. Prosecutors proved Brand groped an MTV employee during a party at a Soho bar in 2004; sexually assaulted a Choice FM worker after cornering her in a corridor in 2005; raped a 21-year-old fan after meeting her at a 2009 stand-up show at the Hammersmith Apollo; and sexually assaulted a Channel 4 worker during what was described as a forced massage in 2009.
BBC journalist Sima Kotecha, who was inside the courtroom as the verdicts were read on November 5, described Brand’s physical reaction for her outlet’s live coverage. “He closed his eyes when the guilty rape verdict was delivered,” she reported. Kotecha added that Brand was “incredibly still and appeared to show no emotion” throughout the reading.
Brand’s wife, Laura Gallacher, was present in the gallery during the verdict. As he was led from the dock, Brand was heard calling out to her: “Laura, I love you.”
The presiding judge warned Brand at a November 7 hearing that his rape conviction “inevitably” carries a “significant custodial term.” Sentencing was scheduled to proceed November 9, the same day Musk posted his “Unjust” reply.
Musk was not alone among public figures in backing Brand after the 2023 allegations emerged, though his one-word post this week made him one of the few to renew that stance following the criminal conviction. The billionaire has frequently used his X platform to weigh in on legal proceedings and media coverage involving British public figures, often framing accused men as victims of narrative campaigns.
Brand’s fall from mainstream prominence had already been underway before the criminal charges. The 2023 investigations prompted immediate cancellations of his live shows and book deals, while YouTube demonetized his channel, which had amassed millions of followers with conspiracy-tinged commentary. His pivot to right-wing media circles and wellness influencer content had made him a fixture in the same online ecosystem where Musk maintains outsized influence.
Brand is scheduled to be sentenced at Southwark Crown Court.