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Meta has taken down Russell Brand’s Instagram account, just days after the disgraced comedian was sentenced to 10 years and six months in prison for rape and sexual assault.
The news surfaced on Wednesday, November 11, when a screenshot of a notice from Meta appeared on Brand’s X account, which is still active.
“We disabled your account. Our technology found your account, or your activity on it, doesn’t follow our rules,” the notice read.
A Meta spokesperson confirmed the removal to TMZ, saying the account was taken down because it “violates our policies.”
Specifically, Brand ran afoul of Meta’s Account Integrity policy. That policy allows the company to restrict or disable accounts that “engage in off-platform activity that can lead to harm,” and it explicitly covers accounts owned by convicted sex offenders.
Instagram isn’t the only casualty. Brand’s Facebook account has reportedly been disabled as well, leaving him without a presence on either of Meta’s two biggest platforms.
That leaves X as the most prominent account Brand still has. It’s unclear who is running it, given that Brand is currently behind bars and was in no position to post the screenshot himself.
The social media wipeout comes on the heels of a stunning fall for the former Hollywood star. On Monday, November 9, Brand was sentenced to 10 years in prison following his rape conviction, with the final term set at 10 and a half years.
Brand, 51, was found guilty of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault on Thursday, November 5, after a four-week trial at London’s Southwark Crown Court.
The same jury acquitted him of two additional counts of rape and one count of attempted indecent assault.
Brand was denied bail after the verdict and went straight into custody. His sentence landed on the lower end of what prosecutors had sought, and well short of the maximum penalty.
According to reports, police are still investigating other cases against him.
Brand’s first days in prison have reportedly been rough. He is said to be housed at HMP Wandsworth in London, where Brand is ‘cowering’ in his jail cell as fellow inmates hurl taunts, according to reports.
Hundreds of prisoners have allegedly been taunting him with a vulgar chant that includes the line, “There’s a Brand new nonce on the wing!” In British prison slang, “nonce” is a derogatory term for a sex offender.
A source claimed the understaffed prison leaves inmates with little time outside their cells, and that Brand only ventures out to collect his meals before heading straight back.
Other reports have described Russell Brand’s grim jail life of vermin, violence and drug searches, with fellow inmates allegedly viewing him as a “high-end target.”
Things got even darker this week when a Snapchat account linked to Terngu Agera, a convicted killer serving a life sentence for a 2014 murder, posted a blurry photo that appeared to be taken inside a prison.
“Russell Brand you naughty boy, we’ll be seeing you son,” the caption read. There is no confirmation that Brand is housed at the same prison as Agera.
For many, the downfall is hard to square with the man Brand once was. He was a fixture on British television and in Hollywood comedies, and he was famously married to Katy Perry from 2010 until 2012.
Perry later described the marriage in unflattering terms, calling it controlling and upsetting in a 2013 interview.
Now, with his Instagram and Facebook accounts gone, Brand’s only major line to the outside world online is an X account that someone else appears to be running on his behalf.
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