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Russell Brand recently claimed that Justin Bieber had changed as a person from when he first became famous. On May 21, 2025, Brand took to his podcast Stay Free with Russell Brand to discuss the supposed loss of art from mainstream channels.
Russell Brand stated that Justin Bieber, when he entered the industry, was "super saccharine". However, Brand claimed that Bieber was surrounded by "weird stuff".
"Justin Bieber, who, when he emerged, was super saccharine and like someone out the Brady Bunch or Partridge Family, and now seems like he's being debugged from a cult, doesn't he? I mean, it seems like he's got weird stuff going on in his management situation, and like, he's finding Christ but appears to have a lot of controls around him," he said.
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Brand also classified Iggy Pop and Sid Vicious as one of the greats, stating that few mainstream artists like them were generating "brilliant art".
Russell Brand's previous statements about Justin Bieber
On April 5, 2025, Russell Brand posted an excerpt of his podcast on X where he claimed that Sean "Diddy" Combs might have been exploiting Justin Bieber. According to the BBC, Diddy was arrested in September 2024 and charged with racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking. His federal trial began on May 12, 2025.
Brand, in his post, recalled a moment from the 2011 Grammy Awards where he and his then-wife, Katy Perry, joked about "adopting" a young Bieber. He then stated that his comments might have been in poor taste, considering how Diddy collaborated with Bieber when the latter was 15 years old.
Russell stated,
"I met him at the Grammys when I was with Katy Perry, and we were like, 'Oh, let's adopt him,' and I think I posted something on social media, 'We're keeping this kid and all of his subsidiary rights.' Then I realized that actually, Diddy was probably exploiting him in a much more tangible way."
Brand also described the singer as the "first modern celebrity," acknowledging his rapid rise through social media, but also implying that the industry may have taken advantage of his success.
"He's an interesting phenomenon, you could make a case that he's the first modern celebrity in some senses, that he was a social media phenomena before entering into the culture and completely dominating that. Like so many people who've been through the machinery of celebrity, he ain't looking well."
Brand’s comments come at a time when he is facing serious legal troubles. As per The Guardian, on April 2, 2025, Russell Brand was charged with one count each of rape, indecent assault, and oral rape as well as two counts of sexual assault. The allegations came from four different women.
Brand denied the charges and took to X to post a statement pledging his innocence.
