You most likely know Russell Brand from his starring roles in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Get Him To The Greek, the recent remake of Arthur, and the film adaptation of the 80’s-set musical Rock of Ages. You probably also know him from his televised appearances hosting the 2008 and 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, as well as a 2011 episode of Saturday Night Live. (If you’re from Brand’s UK homeland, you no doubt know him from his work on several Big Brother spin-off shows.)
You may even know Brand from his stand-up comedy act, which is frequently influenced by his prior drug use, alcoholism, and promiscuity. Or perhaps he’s familiar because of his consistent public support of the LGBT community as a straight ally. And, presumably, you know Brand as the likely inspiration behind several of ex-wife Katy Perry’s latest chart-topping hits.
But what you surely know Brand for is his seemingly innate ability to court controversy wherever he goes. At his first VMA hosting gig, he called then-U.S. President George W. Bush “a retarded cowboy fella,” who, in England, “wouldn’t be trusted with scissors.” That same night he also repeatedly mocked the Jonas brothers’ purity rings, claiming he had stolen one of the brother’s virginity. In 2001 he stripped naked while covering the May Day protests for MTV, and later that year Brand was fired from the network when he showed up for work dressed as Osama bin Laden the day after the 9/11 attacks.
And just this month, Brand was booted from the GQ Men of the Year Awards in London after slamming corporate sponsor Hugo Boss and its founding designer’s ties to Adolf Hitler’s government as the official uniform supplier of Nazi forces.
“If anyone knows a bit about history and fashion, you know it was Hugo Boss, who made uniforms for the Nazis,” Brand said. “But they looked fucking amazing, let’s face it, while they were killing people on the basis of their religion and sexuality.”
The Brit comic’s latest endeavor will certainly stay true to the Brand brand; a global stand-up comedy tour called “Messiah Complex” that’s designed to dissect various religious beliefs and figureheads needs no type of warning label once you know Russell Brand is attached to it. Central Florida will soon find out as the tour stops at Tampa’s Straz Center on Friday, Sept. 20, and Orlando’s Hard Rock Live on Saturday, Sept. 21.
Before that, however, Brand spent part of his Labor Day weekend with Watermark. Here he discussed the tour and why America has been slow to grant equal rights for gays and lesbians. He also shares some details from one of his most romantic nights ever, and shocker: it wasn’t with Katy Perry.
WATERMARK: Let’s start with your tour; tell us a bit about it.
RUSSELL BRAND: The show is a lighthearted, but sometimes it’s a bit heavy, study of heroism, martyrdom, and signs and signifier. What signs are important in our culture and what do these signs mean? In America most of these signs are seen through brands. The way we recognize a hero is through celebrity. It wasn’t always this way, sometimes heroes meant something. And signs which guide us towards divinity towards their nature, towards gods, towards love. So the show’s about that, but I also mention blow jobs as well, just to keep things light.
Well, right there you’ll have the gay audience hooked.
Oh, you’re going to love it! One of the things I talk about is Christ. I say, ‘I’ve read the Bible, and I don’t know where the Christian Right gets homophobia from, because it’s not in the Bible.’ Then I say, if Christ was really against homosexuality it would have been in his top ten do’s and don’ts…the Ten Commandments. It’s not considered as important as ‘Thou shall not covet thy neighbor’s oxen.’ I make a very strong case that Jesus could be gay, perhaps.
That’s certainly a controversial argument.
It’s humorously undertaken, but the point I make is that signs are interpreted and their meaning given by the powerful elite. A homophobic Christ is an indication of a homophobic government.
Here in America, despite being a world leader in many areas, we seem to be dragging our heels on providing equal rights for gays and lesbians. Why do you think that is?
It’s because of puritanism – the puritanism that was present at the genesis of this nation. And I think it’s because people being sexually free is one of the great symbols of freedom. If people are sexually repressed, it’s like a form of oppression. I talk about how it’s good to have a maligned and outcast group in any culture so that the general population has someone to be condemnatory towards and judgmental towards, to prevent them from looking at the actual opponents – the people in power. If you think your problems are because of immigrants, or because of homosexuals, you won’t say, ‘Hold on a minute, these corporations are taking all our money and not paying any tax.’ It’s easier to think about what your neighbor is doing, instead of what’s happening on Wall Street, or in Washington.
What’s your take on America boycotting the Winter Olympics in Russia, and boycotting Russian vodkas?
I met with Dan Savage the other day, and we tweeted a picture of us admonishing Stoli and endorsing Puff Daddy’s Ciroc! Dan Savage is cool! He was really, really fantastic. I really loved him.
In describing your show earlier you mentioned how you discuss people finding heroes. Where would you recommend the gay community look for heroes?
I don’t know if they need to be necessarily a homosexual hero; that’s something your community would have to decide for itself. The heroes I recommend are those who are prepared to die for what they believe in, like Malcom X…though some of his rhetoric was homophobic, despite some of his own homosexual experiences as a younger man. Ghandi, who was like a great radical. And Jesus.
What I think about heroes is, I think we should revere the aspect of a hero that is positive, while accepting that they have flaws…because they’re human beings. I think if you have gay rights campaigners that are willing to die, then you’re going to get what you want in the end.
Let’s shift gears for a moment to something that’s really gay. What was it like working with Alec Baldwin in Rock of Ages, and specifically, how was that kiss?
You know what? It was one of the easiest bits I’ve ever done, because by the time it came to film that kiss, I was in love with Alec Baldwin. That man is such a strong… noble… powerful… interesting fellow. Those are all such wonderful traits, he was like somewhere between a father and a hero, so wise and clever. He’s not bad to look at, either. Kissing him was lovely; it was four o’clock in the morning, we’d spent the whole night [filming] together. It was one of the more romantic nights of my life!
I think you made many a gay man jealous with that kiss. Hell, it could have been any of the Baldwin brothers. They’re the definition of virility.
Oh, he’s virile! I think Alec Baldwin is so masculine he has hair on the shaft of his penis.
My friends said there was no way of asking about certain pop divas without sounding douche-y… but I’m going to try. Is there anything about the world of pop music – that side of entertainment – that surprised you, once you were connected to it?
You know, nothing really. You know, all that stuff is superficial. When you strip away all that stuff, there was a really beautiful person that I loved very, very much. None of those things really matter when you love someone.
More Info:
WHO: Russell Brand
WHEN: Friday, Sept. 20 at Tampa’s Straz Center; and Saturday, Sept. 21, at Orlando’s Hard Rock Live
TICKETS: StrazCenter.org; HardRock.com/Live
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