So YouTube have stopped Russell Brand making any money from his posts. Worth £1M a year some say. Banned  by Google, the ultimate owners. But only from the cash, still free to peddle his misogynistic rantings – if he’s got the spleen for it.  

Google’s revenues are $5B a week. That’s billion.  Rupert Murdoch generates  $9B a year. That’s 12 months. So Brand’s revenues is vending machine pennies to Google. Why not ban him completely?

To be clear. Brand stands accused of a litany of extreme sexual harassment and worse, but he has not been found guilty in a court of law and vehemently denies any wrongdoing.  That doesn’t mean he isn’t a distasteful scrote who should have never been given any kind of mainstream media oxygen.  But he stands innocent under The Law. The court of public opinion? That’s a different question. My betting is he is kippered. No media will touch him, no brand, no charity.

I don’t like him. But what I like a lot less is the hypocrisy of the big media companies, the politicians, the charities, the rent-a-gobs who are falling over themselves to stick the knife in or run a mile from the man. All of them who doubtless clambered onto the #metoo bandwagon when it was fashionable and Brand was apparently a cheeky chappie with influence. 

I would ask a different question – #whyonlynow.  Everyone knew who and what he was – he defined himself by it. Too many turned a blind eye, the same sort who let Harvey Weinstein get away with it for years and despicable years. Brand is no Harvey some will say – and that’s right. But it’s the same culture of making excuses for the talent, overlooking unacceptable behaviour, anything in pursuit of ratings. That troubles us all. Or should do.

#whyonlynow  – Tavistock Wood, his talent agency, dumped him saying they had been “horribly misled” by him. They represent Charles Dance, Dustin Hoffman, Dominic West and scores of female clients. What took them so long? They must have been deaf, dumb and blind. Echoes of Phillip Schofield’s agency. Handwringing after the event, they will say they never knew, that he let them down.

#whyonlynow – Trevi – a charity that “fights for the rights of women and children” and trumpets about their “visions and values” right at the top of their website.. I don’t wish to sound unkind – but what-the-flip. Somebody seriously lacked in the vision stakes when they brought the wolf into the sheep pen.

#whyonlynow – Another Brand charity called “One Can Trust”, which runs foodbanks, dropped him like he had leprosy. Wiped off their website, quoting the “the serious allegations”. In their eyes, guilty by TV. Sometimes the good you do, doesn’t do you any good Russell.

#whyonlynow –  Channel 4. FFS. The people who brought the world Brookside lesbians and a show starring an aborted foetus. Not they’re investigating the fallen star, pulled all of his programmes including the harmless “Bake Off” episode. Hmm – that’s the one where he baked a vagina. Fair point.

#whyonlynow –  Jeremy Corbyn and Len McCluskey’s book of poetry, due to be published in November. They’ve dropped Brand’s poems. Hold me up while I collapse laughing. These old red rascals writing poetry. “There once was a naughty young badger, who turned out to be a serial  shaggggg…”.

#whyonlynow –  The BBC checking their car logs to see if they really did send corporation taxis with a 16-year-old girl to Brand’s home. If there’s a foot to be inserted into a mouth, rely on the BBC to be in there somewhere. In their defence….  no,  there are too many sordid stories to cut them any slack.

#whyonlynow – Talking about foot in mouth – step up Ed Miliband who sucked up to Brand in the 2015 General Election. Helpfully that YouTube interview is still up there. Unmonetised of course. But as for Ed, part of the would-be government in waiting? Radio silence.

#whyonlynow – Brand was dropped from the Comedy Central series after comedienne Katherine Ryan bravely called him a predator on camera during a Roast Battle episode. The programme makers – small indie Fulwell 27 – say they became “uncomfortable” at the rumours and dropped Brand. But the footage was never shown. They hired him – didn’t they know who and what he was? Fulwell made the Sunderland FC documentaries, they’re big fans apparently. But clearly out of their league here.

And finally:  Well done Daily Mail executive Andrew Pierce who called out his GB News co-presenter Beverley Turner live on-air for describing Brand as “her hero”. Brand obviously never gave her anything to choke on.

Steve Sampson is a former Assistant, Northern and Scottish Editor of  The Sun newspaper, and a Director of Trinity Mirror publications. He was a launch presenter of Radio5 Live, founder of First Press Publishing and contributes to the BBC. He is an investor/owner across a series of digital initiatives, and a media adviser. He lists “Diplomacy” as a speciality.