Squiz Today – Monday, 18 September

THE SQUIZ

The British comedian and actor Russell Brand has been accused of sexual assault by 4 women in a joint investigation by UK media outlets The Times/Sunday Times and Channel 4. Private emails, text messages and medical notes have been cited to corroborate the claims of the 4 anonymous women – one of whom was 16yo at the time of her alleged assault. The women say Brand assaulted them between 2006-13, when the actor/comedian and BBC presenter was mega-famous. The reports also say several other women have accused him of physical and emotional abuse, harassment, and bullying. Brand preemptively denied the claims via his social media on Saturday, saying that “the relationships I had were absolutely, always consensual.” 

WHO IS RUSSELL BRAND AGAIN?

Brand was an international star about a decade ago. He’s been on and off BBC radio shows, but he’s still a big name in the UK after reinventing himself as a podcaster/wellness guru/anti-establishment social media personality. On those platforms, he has an audience of 4 million on Instagram, 2.2 million on TikTok, and 6.59 million on YouTube, and he regularly strays into territory occupied by conspiracists… But going back to the start, Brand first rose to fame as a comedian in the early 2000s, known for talking about promiscuity and addiction, and he rose through the media as a host of a Big Brother spin-off before becoming a presenter on Britain’s Channel 4 and the BBC. In the 2010s, he landed major film roles, including Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Get Him to the Greek. He was also married to the pop star Katy Perry for 14 months before ending their relationship via text, just before she had to appear on stage. 

WHERE TO FROM HERE?

Russell is in the middle of a live tour, and he took to the stage on Saturday night just hours after the media investigation was published. He told the crowd that there are “obviously some things that I absolutely cannot talk about” before performing his show to a standing ovation from fans. As for criminal ramifications, London’s Metropolitan Police have said they haven’t received any reports of sexual assault, and that they’ll be speaking to the news publications “to ensure that any victims of crime who they have spoken with are aware of how they may report any criminal allegations to police.” The BBC, who employed Brand for some of the years covered by the allegations, said they’re “urgently looking into the issues raised.”

Derna’s death toll jumps

The death toll from last week’s flash flooding in Libya has risen to more than 11,300 people, according to a weekend report from the United Nations. The city of Derna on Libya’s east coast was hit hardest when Storm Daniel dumped torrential rain on the region, causing major dams to collapse, and prosecutors are looking into whether negligence was a factor. On top of the confirmed death toll, authorities say at least 10,100 people are still missing. Rescuers are continuing to search for bodies – they say many are washing up onshore after people were swept out to sea in the rush of water. Before-and-after satellite images show the devastation, with roads washed away and the city split in half. At least 30,000 people are displaced in Derna, and reports say they’re dealing with medical and fresh water shortages. That means an increased risk of cholera, malnutrition, diarrhoea, and dehydration – particularly amongst local children. And the long-running dysfunction between Libya’s rival governments isn’t making aid efforts any easier… 

A warning from climate experts

We probably don’t have to tell you that Libya’s not the only place struck by recent extreme weather events – here’s what’s happened in the last 2 weeks… A typhoon tore through Hong Kong, Storm Daniel’s caused huge floods in Greece and Turkey before heading for Libya, and Storm Dana caused torrential rains over Spain. Meanwhile, Antarctica’s sea ice is at its lowest winter level on record, and that’s a problem because the ice helps to keep the planet cool. Long story short, experts are pointing to the climate crisis worsening… ​​Hong Kong climate scientist Jung-Eun Chu says governments “have to start thinking about it, because they’ve never experienced these kinds of extreme events before”. And closer to home, scientists say they’ve “never seen anything” like the El Niño that’s forming. We’ll hear more about that tomorrow when the Bureau of Meteorology releases its latest climate report. 

The Voice is being raised…

This time in 4 weeks we’ll (very likely) know the result of the Voice to Parliament referendum. And in a weekend plot twist, disagreement within the ‘No’ campaign emerged. Yesterday, prominent ‘No’ campaigner Warren Mundine said that he’s in favour of treaties with Indigenous Australians and that a ‘No’ vote would make that more likely. (Note: fellow ‘No’ campaigner Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has said “you can’t have a treaty with your own citizens”…) Mundine also called for the date of Australia Day to be changed. (Note: the ‘No’ campaign has been using speculation over a change of date as a reason to vote against the Voice…) While Price and Mundine are prominent Indigenous Australians campaigning for a ‘No’ result, they belong to different groups, and now we can see why… As for the ‘Yes’ campaign, tens of thousands of Aussies marched yesterday, with Midnight Oil’s Peter Garrett telling the crowds to urge undecided friends and families to vote ‘Yes’.

Vale Ron Barassi

The family of AFL icon/Hall of Famer Ron Barassi has been offered a state funeral after the 87yo died on Saturday. “The word legend is used a lot. But nobody deserves it quite like Ron Barassi,” Victorian Premier Dan Andrews said yesterday. He wasn’t overstating things… Barassi was born into Aussie Rules as the son of Ronald Senior, a premiership player for the Melbourne Football Club before he was killed at Tobruk during World War II. Barassi became a star player for his dad’s club in the 1950s before heading to Carlton in 1964, becoming the first reigning VFL premiership captain to change teams. He went on to coach for Melbourne, Carlton, North Melbourne, and Sydney, and built his reputation as quite a yeller, but also a forward-thinking pioneer of the modern game. Barassi won 10 AFL premierships and too many other honours to list over his career… Yesterday, his former teammate Brian Dixon remembered him as “a beautiful, beautiful person”.

Love is dead

You would have had to be stuck under your fridge or another heavy item this weekend to not know that Aussie movie star Hugh Jackman and his wife of 27 years, Deborra-Lee Furness, have split… The couple says they’ve had “a wonderful, loving marriage”, but their “journey now is shifting” and they’re separating to pursue individual growth. Insert broken heart emoji… They got together in 1995 after meeting on the set of Aussie TV series Corelli and went on to marry and adopt 2 children. Jackman is huge in Hollywood following his breakout role as a star of the X-Men franchise, and the couple became one of La La Land’s favourite long-term love stories. They’re also known for their adoption advocacy, with Deborra-Lee named the 2015 NSW Australian of the Year for her work in establishing the National Adoption Awareness Week campaign. At least Jackman’s bromance with Ryan Reynolds is still going strong…

Get ready for The Castle 2 after a Brissie homeowner won a High Court case over an electronic billboard placed in front of his yard. The court found that Richard Leahy wasn’t given a chance to object to the huge billboard, which totally ruined the homeowner’s vibe…

There’s one less place to get a great Masala Dosa in London after the historic India Club shut down on Sunday. The ‘curry club’ restaurant was set up in 1947, and is closing down as the building’s owners redevelop the site into a modern hotel.

Inflation is hitting the most sacred of German celebrations – Oktoberfest, which began in Munich over the weekend. Festivalgoers can expect to shell out between $20-$25 for a litre of beer, up 6% from last year. A pair of lederhosen, meanwhile, could set you back upwards of $2,000…

8.15am (AEST) – Minister for Home Affairs Clare O’Neil addresses the AFR Cyber Summit – Sydney

4.30pm (AEST) – New season of Neighbours premieres on Amazon Freevee and Network Ten

Chile’s national day

Michele Bullock takes over from Philip Lowe as Reserve Bank Governor

International Equal Pay Day

National Cheeseburger Day in the US

Birthdays for Lance Armstong (1971) and Jada Pinkett-Smith (1971)

Anniversary of:

• Greta Garbo’s birthday (1905)
• the release of the film A Streetcar Named Desire starring Marlon Brando and Vivien Leigh (1951)
• the premiere of The Addams Family (1964), Get Smart (1965) and I Dream of Jeannie (1965)
• the deaths of Jimi Hendrix (1970) and Ruth Bader Ginsburg (2020)