YouTube stops letting Russell Brand earn money on the platform

YouTube has blocked Russell Brand from making money off the videos posted to his channel, as reported earlier by The New York Times. The decision to demonetize Brand’s account comes just days after several reports detailing sexual assault allegations against the actor emerged.

While Brand has become known for his career as an actor and comedian, he has also amassed a large following on YouTube, with over 62 million subscribers. Many of his more recent videos focus on popular conspiracy theories, some of which spread misinformation about the covid vaccines and the Russia-Ukraine war.

When YouTube demonetizes a channel, it will no longer show ads on videos, preventing the creator from earning money. YouTube Jack Malon tells The Verge it suspended Brand from monetizing his videos for violating YouTube’s creator responsibility policy, adding, “If a creator’s off-platform behavior harms our users, employees or ecosystem, we take action to protect the community.” YouTube didn’t immediately respond to The Verge’s request for comment.